New Beginnings
by Thatpessimisticcat
Summary: Ryou x Reader x Yami Bakura. As a foreign exchange student, (Name) O'Hara has a difficult time. Even more difficult when she starts swearing in a foreign language. Meanwhile, a certain Ring spirit and his lighter counterpart begin to take a certain... interest. Especially since this girl lives directly below their flat...
1. Chapter 1:Ryou's Invitation

Nerves bubble in your stomach as you walk slowly out the door of your apartment, telling your flatmate, "If I die, Sio, then make sure they bring me home to bury me!" Sionnach just grins and shoves you out the door before her. She flicks her long, flaming mane of hair over her shoulder, mischief sparkling in her hazel eyes. You are both on a foreign exchange trip from Ireland for two years and are both wearing your new school uniforms; Skye is going to a different school to the one you have chosen.  
You decide to take the bus since you can't remember where the hell the school actually is. Getting lost on your first day would not make a good impression. You stare out the window to memorise the route, your bursting schoolbag and kitbag beside you. You have been asked to explain the concept of GAA to Domino High students.  
The bus stops and you get out, stumbling slightly. Ahead of you are five different people – four boys and a girl. You recognise one of them as Yugi Mouto, the King of Games, and your heart beats faster. You play Duel Monsters too, and you carry your deck around with you wherever you go, like the Cladagh ring on your right hand. The other boy you recognise because he lives in the flat right above you.  
"Ryou!" You call, and hurry towards the group. They all turn, but Ryou give you a big smile and calls back, "(y/n)! You didn't get lost!" He looks like he's remembering the circumstances in which you met, two weeks ago. You blush slightly and give a small smile. "Nah, I took the bus this time. Besides," you gesture towards your stuff, bursting with books, "Can you imagine lugging all these everywhere?"  
Ryou laughs and introduces his friends to you. "(y/n), these are Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan. Guys, this is (y/n) O'Hara, one of the Foreign Exchange students."  
"Hey Bakura, how come you know her?" The one labelled as Joey smirks. "Did you guys bump into each other, or what?"  
You and Ryou look at each other and grin. You decide to tell your story. "I was meant to take the bus but I wanted to walk like the eejit I am and got lost. Ryou and I bumped into each other, I lost my map, and he brought me to the block of flats all twenty six of us are staying in, because he lived there too – right above Skye and me, which is grand and all. Great craic." You shrug.  
"Crack?" Yugi says hesitantly, and you notice another person beside him. You can tell it's a spirit – it's seethrough and glowing slightly. It looks almost exactly like Yugi, except taller and more badass. He seems to have as much interest in you as you do in him, and he bends down to murmur something to Yugi without taking his eyes off you. Yugi jumps and gives you a troubled look as you try to explain what you meant, involving lots of hand gestures and pointing.  
"Grand is...OK, alright, you know, that sort of thing, and craic is -" Your hands wave around a bit as you try to come up with an understandable answer "-doing things for fun, like. You know."  
They all nod their heads in understanding, which makes you feel grateful. You glance over at Yugi again and see that the spirit is gone before Tea interrupts.  
"So (y/n), what have you got first thing? If we're in the same class I can show you around."  
You drop your bag in the cloakroom – by now you're at the rows of lockers, wou were walking while you talked – and riffle through your books for your journal. You check your locker number, find the locker, put all your books in, and only then do you look at your timetable to see what you have. "Um, English and Maths." Tea checks her timetable against yours: a perfect match, except where Tea has labelled in 'Japanese' you have written 'Gaeilge'.  
"You don't do Japanese as a language then? But I'm pretty sure that we don't have anyone that teaches that," she frowns and holds your timetable to her face to look. "What is it, anyway?"  
"It's Irish as Gaeilge," you reply automatically, your hands already pulling out books from your locker. You don't see the bewildered look on her face when she hands you back your table. Instead you are too busy staring at the name stuck on the locker directly above yours:  
Ryou Bakura  
And wondering if it is just a coincidence. Shaking your head, you follow Tea and the others out of the room to class.

"Oh sweet Jesus, that maths test was hard," you groan, coming out of the classroom behind Tea. "I barely passed that."  
"Well, I know that I failed," Joey commented, dropping in beside you.  
"That's only because you never study, Joey," Tristan points out, glancing behind him. "What did you think of it, Yugi?"  
"I think you're right." Yugi smiles at Joey. "You never did enjoy studying, Joey."  
"Keh," Joey mutters, scuffing his foot against the floor as he walks. Something bumps against your shoulder, and you hear Ryou apologising, "Sorry, (y/n)!" as he falls into step beside you. You blush as your reply, "It's no bother, Ryou," before looking at him from the corner of your eyes and seeing that he's blushing too, a deep red that shows up against his alabaster skin as you all walk into the cafeteria. Joey and Tristan get their lunch first and secure a table by the and Tea get theirs soon after, leaving you and Ryou in line. He's in front of you, and you are only a few seconds leaving after paying for your full tray when a tall teen with a 'tough thug' aura hanging around him like a menace approaches you and bars your way with his arm. He leers at you unpleasantly before saying in a sleazy voice, "Hello there gorgeous, but I don't think we've been introduced." He leans in closer to you and lays an arm across your shoulders. You wrinkle your nose and try not to breathe; his breath reeks.  
"The name's Ushio," he continues, still leering, "And since I'm the Class Representative in your class I would be honoured to show you ar-"  
"Excuse me."  
The voice is quiet but firm, and you turn your head to see Ryou standing in front of Ushio, his face set. He is still holding his tray, and now Yugi and the others are looking up and beginning to move towards the three of you. You hear Ryou continue, still looking at Ushio, "If (y/n) had wanted to be shown around by you, then I'm certain she would have asked."  
Only then does he turn to look at you, and your heart skips a beat. His deep brown eyes stare into your own, and you can feel yourself falling into them, losing yourself...  
You blink, shrug Ugama's arm off and go to sit with the others at your table. Ugama stares after you, growls and stomps off after giving Ryou an extremely dirty look as he takes his place beside you . You both begin eating your lunch, but you can't concentrate on your food, not with Ryou right beside you. You had become best of friends after you had bumped into each other on the street, and you kept meeting him around the place and chatting with him, which was strange. You would meet him in the shops, on the street, in the corridors and laundry rooms. In fact, every time you went out (and sometimes when you went in) he'd be there, walking or laughing or just being nice to people.  
You feel strange, hot and cold at the same time, and you keep glancing involuntarily at him before flushing and ducking your head again until Yugi asks you a question.  
"Hey (y/n), what's that?" You follow Yugi's gaze to your right hand, where your Cladagh Ring is plainly in view. Your eyes trace its familiar shape – the crown above the heart held by two hands – before shrugging and answering.  
"It's my Cladagh Ring. Back home, they're a popular way of telling someone whether you're single or not without having to say anything." By now the whole group is interested, and Joey and Tristan stop bickering and look with interest on the scene.  
You take it off and turn it in your fingers before handing it to Yugi,who admires it, hands it back with a question of "How?" You notice that the other Yugi has appeared again and is watching you intently, staring at you with those handsome amethyst eyes of his. Placing the ring back on your finger, you begin to explain:  
"The whole ring is a symbol." You point to the heart, then the crown, then finally the hands. "The heart represents love, the crown represents fidelity – that's loyalty – and the hands represent friendship." You take it off and place it so that the heart is pointing inwards. "If the heart is pointing inwards towards you, then your heart has been taken by another." You switch it back to its original position. "Heart outwards, and you're looking for love."  
"Has it ever been pointing inwards for you?" Ryou's voice makes you glance up into his eyes – and your heart nearly stops. You blush, looking away from the seriousness reflected in them as you reply.  
"Nah. I'm a frigid."  
"A... what?" Tea seems shocked. You silently curse yourself.  
"It means that I've never been kissed," you mutter, ducking your head. The bell rings and you head off to your next class – art.

Sionnach is waiting for you outside the gates, smirking. She's changed into a black t-shirt and jeans and waves to you when she sees you, calling you by your nickname.  
"Howyeh, Bubbles!" She yells, laughing. You glare at her and blush as Yugi, Ryou, Tea, Joey and Tristan all turn to look at you. Joey starts sniggering.  
"Aw, you're blushing again, Bubbles."  
"Bubbles is OK," Ryou moves closer to you defensively. You silently thank him in your mind. He's so nice...  
Sionnach nods at Ryou. "Howyeh bin keeping, Ryou?"  
"Alright, Sio." He looks at you, confused. "Why Bubbles?"  
You shrug and say loud enough for the others to hear, "Because Cuddles here dumps her dirty clothes all over the place, and I do the laundry at home." You shrug resignedly. Tristan lets out a hoot of laughter.  
"She doesn't look anything like a cuddles!"  
Sionnach grimaces at you and grabs your arm. "So, who's going to introduce me?"  
"Right. Sio, this is Yugi, Tristan, Joey and Tea. Guys, this magnificent article of sarcasm is my friend Sionnach Ní Duibhe. She's my flatmate."  
"Nice to meet you," Yugi nods, before Sio checks her watch.  
"C'mon (y/n), we've gotta get back before Ms. Kearns kills us."  
"We'll come with you," Ryou offers. "After all, it's my turn to host this week."  
The gang all nod and you set off with Ryou beside you, grateful for his offer. Sio chats to Yugi and the others, and when she mentions the fact that you both play Duel Monsters, Yugi looks excited.  
"We can duel each other then," he laughs, beaming happily.  
Finally you reach the apartment building and begin climbing the stairs. The gang all stop outside your door as Sionnach fishes in her pockets for the keys before twisting them in the lock and stepping inside. You are about to follow when Ryou grabs your arm. You turn around to face him questioningly. He blushes.  
"If you want then you and Sionnach can come up later to hang out."  
"Sure," you smile. Your heart feels like it's doing cartwheels in your chest. Yes! "I'll tell her." You walk inside and close the door. Ryou stares at it for a second, sighs and then goes up to his own apartment with the group. He feels a tug on his Millennium Ring, excuses himself to the bathroom when everyone is inside, and carefully shuts the door behind him.  
"You like her, I can tell." Yami Bakura smirks behind Ryou. It widens as he goes on, "I can help you get her if you want."  
"I don't want your help," Ryou says wearily. He rubs his face tiredly. "Every time I let you in, I don't know what the hell I'll wake up to in the morning. He sighs and looks at Bakura. "Also, I want her to like me for me, not for you."  
"Jealous, are we?" Bakura leans against the wall. "I intend on helping anyway, but I won't say when." Ryou begins to protest, but Bakura holds up his hand and jerks his head towards the door. Right on que, the buzzer rings. "I think you should go and greet your guests," he grins evilly as he vanishes into thin air. As Ryou unlocks the front door, he doesn't hear the silent, triumphant hiss in his mind. She will belong to me!


	2. Chapter 2:New People, Old Friends

I do not own yugioh, it is copyright Kazuki Takahashi. There! Let's start! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... CHAPTER TWO! *exits to fanfare, cheers, applause*

You're waiting outside Ryou's door with Sio, wearing your favourite t-shirt and a pair of shorts, since you felt that it was too hot for jeans. _I can't believe I'm doing this. This is insane, this is stupid, this is -_

"You know, since it was so nice of the lad to invite you over in the first place, you might as well ring the doorbell." Sionnach's comment brings a hot flush to your cheeks, jerking you into action to press the button beside his door before turning around and hissing, "don't be an eejit, Sio, he invited the both of us!" _So why the hell do I feel so cheesed off about it?_

 _She's up to something..._

Sio smirks, leaning back on one leg and shoving her hands deep into her pockets as you add in a mumble, staring at your trainers, "it isn't as if he even likes me anyway..."

"So all the blushing, the surprising meetings, and the way you two stare into each other's eyes isn't romance? Darling, you shock me." Shaking her head mockingly, she grins a foxy grin. (A/N: the hint is in the name. "Sionnach" means "fox"). "I don't think that this romance is unrequited!"

"But - but -" you stutter, then give up. "Why are _you_ so interested, anyway?" You use as your retort, glaring at her.

"Ooh, defensive are we?" (A/N sense of déjà vu, anybody?) Your best friend smirks before leaning past you and giving a little wave, smiling like a sunbeam. "Hi, Ryou."

you squeak and jump back, twisting around to face the now-open doorway. _Shit! How much did he hear!?_

"Hey, Sio," Ryou greets her cheerfully, stepping back and opening the door wide. "Step in, the others are all here - well, of course they're here - I mean -um..." he stutters into silence and turns back into his apartment, biting his lip. He can feel the his porcelain skin turn red. _(Y/N) looks really pretty tonight, why tonight? Yami'll just take her away from me..._

He's aware of a whispered conversation between the two girls behind his back as he walks into the living room where the others are already sitting and chatting amongst themselves. And then...

"Ow! Sio - agh!"

(Y/N) cannons into his back with the force of the push. They fall forward together, landing on the floor in a heap in front of everyone else. For a moment, he can feel the heat of her body through his thin top, and then he scrambles upright, cherry-red, apologies tumbling out of his mouth as he pulls her up beside him. He can hear Bakura laughing inside.

Joey leans over to Yugi and Tristan and stage-whispers: "I reckon that that was done on purpose by the other one to get these two lovebirds to kiss."

"Not quite, Wheeler, but nearly there." Sionnach steps into the room, an evil glint in her eye. Embarrassment and annoyance flood your stomach, and you're almost about to give her a piece of your mind before you notice the way she's standing. You raise an eyebrow at her, stepping away from the poor Brit and yanking her into a rough hug. "I hate you. So much, you evil sod."

 _She wanted a confrontation, to try and get me to show how I feel... And get him to react too! Smart move, Sio._

Sio laughs and hugs you back before shoving you away, holding her hands up to Ryou. "Sorry, Ryou, but she wouldn't set a foot over this threshold, so I had to take matters into my own hands... arms. Elbows. Whichever." She shrugs apologetically.

"It's f-fine. Nobody's hurt."

Yugi laughs from one of the sofas. "Shouldn't it be (Y/N) that you apologise to instead?"

"It's fine," you assure him, glancing shyly over at Ryou, who smiles a bit before you drop your gaze again. "She's trying to be helpful."

Ryou runs his hand through his hair and coughs. "Um, anyway... you two sit down... I just need to wait for Marik."

A laugh, from the corridor. "No need to wait for me any more!"

Somebody steps into the room, and Ryou blinks. "That was quick." A welcoming smile spreads across his face as he steps forward to greet the stranger. "How are you? How's Ishizu?"

"Ishizu? Last time I saw her was on a dig site. I'm sorry I'm late, but I got held back because of a new student..." the new boy - Marik - trails off. He's quite handsome, with spiky blonde hair and bronze skin, contrasting against his vivid purple eyes... one of which is black, marring the symmetry of his face. Both of which are staring at Sio in distaste. "What is _she_ doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, you pervert," she growls, furious. You recognise this stance, and lay a warning hand on her arm.

"Sio... easy. Not here." You glance between the two, mind making connections. _So we have exhibit A, with black eye. Exhibit B, with the word "pervert" directed at exhibit A... got it._

"Marik, why are you so against Sio? How do you two know each other?" _Thank you, Tea, for asking the question that is on everybody's minds._

"Against her? She's against me! First thing I say to her, and she hits me with a leather covered _rock_ that she was trying to pass off as a ball!"

"Sorry... Marik?" He looks at you and nods. "What did you say to her?"

"Hello, beautiful," Sionnach grumbles. "And then he tried to get closer. I had no choice."

Yugi, Tristan, Joey and Ryou are staring at her in silence. "What? I didn't!" She protests, looking at them all.

A sniggering fills the room. Slowly, Sionnach turns around to give her deluxe death glare. You wave a hand, the other covering her mouth. "You could have hit him with the hurl instead..."

"You could have _not_ hit him," Ryou points out, grinning.

Marik snorts, rolling his eyes. "She could have accepted the fact that she really is beautiful."

"When hell freezes over!" Sio splutters, turning pink.

"You could have flirted back so, in the knowledge that you're uglier than an aowld toad with verrucas." Ryou watches (Y/N) tease her best friend, her face glowing. He feels a pang in his heart, hiding it behind a smile. _I wish I was as close to her as that...closer, even..._

"Shall I make everyone some tea?" He suggests, stopping the discussion. Joey and Tristan shake their heads. So do Yugi, Tea, Marik and even Sionnach when he asks them.

Finally, he turns to you. "(Y/N)?"

"Please." He smiles, chocolate eyes sparkling, before heading into the kitchen, and you can finally sit down on the only space left: the floor. It feels nice to get the weight off your feet.

"So, do you think that sometime you and Ryou will..." Tea whispers, her voice low as she leans over the side of the sofa to talk to you. You shake your head and shrug.

"Does he even like me?" _He'd be mad to, what with what's happened to me over my life..._

Tea hesitates, and the gap is filled by the conversations of the others. Sionnach and Marik are having a low voiced discussion in the corner. Tristan, Yugi and Joey are discussing Duel Monsters. There's no noise from the kitchen. "I think that... he probably -"

But then Ryou enters holding a tray full of cupcakes and cola... And a teapot. And two cups. And milk. And even a sugarbowl...

"Hey, cola! Thanks, Ryou, you're awesome!" Joey reaches out as the tray is set down onto the coffee table and snags two cupcakes with one hand and a glass with the other. He stuffs one onto his mouth and beams. "Mm, delicious!"

Sionnach and Marik gravitate towards it as well to snag some goodies, and you manage to catch the tail end of a conversation.

"...still think you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," Marik insisted. His eyes were serious, but a small smile danced around his lips.

"Huh." Sionnach was still grumpy, but you could tell that she was secretly enjoying all of the attention. Marik is the first person that you have ever seen to persist in trying to woo your friend.

"Here, (Y/N)." You look away from the two into Ryou's face, and then down to his hands, where one of the mugs is full of delicious, soothing tea. Reaching up, you wrap your fingers around the handle and balance it in your palm before taking a cautious sip. It's hot, but nice, and you sigh in contentment, giving him a grateful smile.

"It's lovely. Thank you." And you mean it. It is lovely, the way he went to all this trouble for everyone. It showed he cared. He beams at this result.

"Sionnach told me that you prefer drinking tea to anything else where it's possible."

"Really? When?" You look up at him, confused. You don't remember Sio saying anything of the sort...

"When we first met, and we were outside the block... after I brought you here." He flushes slightly, but smiles at you again before sitting down between Tea and Joey on the sofa and drinking his own tea.

Tea hands you down a cupcake and winks. "He likes you," she mouths, before turning back to join in the general conversation and moan about being back at school again.

"Yugi, I don't know how, but that girl can see me, " Yami murmurs to his hikari. Yugi glances up. Yami is sitting with his legs crossed on the arm of the sofa beside him, his violet eyes worried. "I feel as if I know her from somewhere, but I just can't recall from my memories where..."

Yugi discreetly looks down to the figure sitting on the floor beside Tea's seat, watching the Duel Monsters match on the T.V intently like everyone else. "It seems likely that she is," he admits, under his breath so that nobody can hear. "But you'll find out eventually..."

"I don't know. Maybe." Yami goes silent for a while, and Yugi goes back to watching the game until he feels a ghostly touch on his shoulder. "The ritual will be ready later," he whispers, and Yugi smiles secretly before whispering back, "Until then, then."

"Until then," Yami agrees, and then vanishes.

"Guys, it's getting late. We should probably head off," Tea announces. There is a General consensus, and she smiles at Ryou while she gets her school bag. "Thanks, Ryou."

"Yeah, the cupcakes were awesome!" Joey grins. Tristan punches him in the shoulder, laughing.

"You and food!"

"Yeah, so? They were, they were delicious!"

Yugi smiles apologetically over the bickering at Ryou. "See you tomorrow." But he gives you a strange look before the gang leaves.

Sionnach looks at you, tucking her red hair behind her ear and winking. "I'm going to keep chatting to Marik, down in the flat. Don't wait up."

"Good luck," you snicker, and watch as he tries to take her hand only to have it smacked away. The door shuts with a final click.

You're alone in the room with Ryou.

"Um... d-do you want to come onto the sofa (Y/N)?" Ryou's stuttering makes him wince. _Why can't I just be normal around her?_

"Sure," she smiles, carefully getting up and sinking into the cushions with a relieved sigh. "Ahh, that's much better than the floor!"

 _She's so close I could reach out and touch her..._ Ryou thinks, trying to keep his eyes off the way she sits, and blushing every time he glances up from under his eyeashes. His fists clench slightly with the embarrassment.

 _I can help you with that,_ Bakura whispers in his mind.

You hear the other voice loud and clear, and glance at Ryou, confused. "What did you say?"

"I - I didn't say anything." _She can hear him!_

 _Good,_ Bakura purrs, and then Ryou feels himself being pushed out of the way and deeper into his own subconscious.

Bakura eyes you slyly, reaching out a hand to tuck a piece of hair behind your cheek. You flinch at the contact and jerk away. _This isn't Ryou! What the hell -_

"I was just thinking of how pretty you are, that's all," he finishes for his hikari. You glare at him and inch away. He smirks, grabbing your wrist and yanking you into his arms, leaning so that his face is close to yours. "Very pretty indeed."

"You're not Ryou! What have you done to him?" Wriggling only makes him chuckle and adjust his hold on you to a more secure arm around your waist. "Who are you!?"

"I'm just someone who isn't afraid to do what Ryou wants to do with you, love," he whispers, his breath hot on your face. His hand suddenly yanks your head back, fingers bunched in your hair, before he runs his mouth down over your cheek. "And I want to do it all." He stops at your jawline. Involuntarily, you shiver at the closeness, feel him grin against your skin before he kisses it. "Very much."

"Get _off!"_ Jerking, trying to get him to let go of you, stop what he's doing. But he's too strong, and all you get for your troubles is a hard bite and a warning growl that vibrates through to your throat. "Fucking get _off,_ right now - nngh..."

"But you _like_ this, sweetheart." He shoves you down onto the sofa, pinning you in that iron grip so that you can't escape. Straddling you, he pulls himself up, tilting his head, a gleam in his hungry eyes. His voice turns hard. "After all, if this were Ryou then you'd be loving it."

"You laughed at him when Sio pushed me," you force out through gritted teeth, unwilling to admit that a part of your heart was racing with excitement. "And I hear you talking to him and goading him just because he has manners. Unlike _you._ "

Something strange is happening... you can feel your whole body getting hotter and hotter, like your anger. As the not-Ryou's eyes narrow, you manage to shove your hand onto his chest and push hard. "Now fuck _off!"_

Light. So much light that you turn your head away, squeezing your eyes shut tight. And then...

"(Y-Y/N)?" Ryou. _Thank God._ He sounds scared, confused, and you can feel him shaking. "What h-happened? Why are we... like this?"

You squint up at him as he takes his hand away from where it had been wrapped in your hair, his arm from around your waist. He's tomato red, and shaken.

"Who are you?" You ask him. "And who the fuck was the _other_ you?"

He gets off of the sofa, eyes averted from yours. "You might not like me if I tell you," he whispers, voice trembling. He starts to pick up all the empty glasses and cupcake cases, placing them onto the tray, his back to you. "You'd leave me like everyone else, or even worse, stay with me just for _him._ "

"I..." You hesitate. Lick your lips, then slide off the sofa and reach up to touch his arm. "I like you. A lot." _Um. Jesus. What do you say to a guy that's so miserable?_ And I'm still a frigid. But, I'd, em, like to be _your_ frigid, or even your... your not frigid if you want?"

 _Wow. Such amazing ways to avoid saying it directly. IDIOT!_

He's still looking down, but his hands have stopped moving, resting on the glasses that he was stacking. Then, in a voice so low that you can barely hear it:

"My father gave me a present for my birthday when I was younger. He'd got it from an Egyptian archaeological dig site, a tomb. I wore it all the time." He swallows. You can tell that this is hard for him, and squeeze his arm slightly as he takes a breath and goes on.

"Things started... happening, then. I'd get these memory blackouts, and wake up not knowing what had happened, or if it was really bad, where I was. Then it started to happen when I invited my friends over to play a board game... I woke up and they were all unconscious. They were hospitalised.

"It kept happening, so I moved to a new school, but it happened there too... so I kept on moving. I had to leave my family, my mother and my oneechan. My father I rarely see anyway. They send me money to live on, from time to time..."

He goes silent for a little while, closes his eyes. Opens them again, and looks directly at you, his sweet warm eyes full of pain. "I moved here, and met the guys... but when I touched Yugi's millennium puzzle... And when I was about to mention my own Millenium Ring...I got these weird chest pains... And I started to hear _him._ "

Such bitterness in his voice. He drops his gaze, and his tone. "He told me everything that he'd done... And even when he didn't, I could _feel_ it in his mindset... he hates the pharaoh that lives inside Yugi's Puzzle... he's tried to kill them multiple times, using my body... And he's stolen everyone that I loved, I mean, he can steal my _face_ and pass off as me... The others can't trust me." He pulls away from your hand on his arm. "You can't trust me either." Picking up the tray, he heads toward the kitchen.

But you reach out and grab him again, taking the tray from him and putting it onto the floor, looking him straight in the eye. "Yes I can."

"No," he says softly, "(Y/N), you _can't_ , you -"

He looks into her eyes. Tears burn behind his, but won't come out. He shakes his head, steps back from her. _How could she? Nobody else could, not even Yami... not even my family..._

"You sound different. You act different, too. More... suspicious, less you. I can't explain it." _Don't grab my hand, (Y/N), please just don't..._

"And," she continues, staying where she is, but still looking at him, "there's one other way." She purses her lips and looks down at the ground. "You haven't tried to kiss me yet."

 _... what?_

"Would you like me to kiss you?" He asks, heart beating faster. _Please say yes please say yes please say yes please please please..._

Still looking down at the ground. "...maybe." and she shivers, hugging herself.

"Oh! Are you cold?" He reaches out to her, hesitated, touches her bare arm. "Maybe you shouldn't have worn shorts... it is September, after all."

"I thought it was too hot for jeans," she mumbles. _She isn't looking at me._

 _Maybe..._ he blushes at the thought. _Maybe if I..._

Carefully, he reaches around her small body, feeling the inner heat even through her cold skin, and pulls her into his chest.

She's stiff for a second before relaxing, wrapping her own arms around his neck. He can feel her heart beating in her chest, hear his own drumming in his ears.

The contact is electrifying.

You sigh, and lean your head on his chest. "You're so warm," you mumble, and shiver again.

He holds you tighter, voice worried. "Are you still cold?" You nod slightly against his chest. He hesitates. "Maybe..."

Glancing up, you meet his gorgeous eyes while he reaches up a hand and cups your cheek, the look in them a plea. "Maybe this will warm you up..."

But you're already leaning up to meet his lips as he's bending down. You kiss, then kiss and kiss again, a series of little kisses, exploring kisses, shy kisses, soft and sweet kisses, both of his hands holding your face, yours burying themselves in his long, soft hair like you had had daydreams about doing ever since you had met him. _So this is what a kiss feels like,_ a tiny part of you wonders giddily. Then your mouth moves back to his, and all rational thought is lost.

He strokes his fingertips over your cheeks, moving to a light touch at your temples, a brush over your jaw, tilting your head more with a soft groan. "Oh..."

 _Amazing. She's amazing._ His thoughts are running around in circles. _She's wonderful._ But eventually he has to break away from her, both of them gasping, cheeks flushed. He hugs her tightly again, his body trembling, his legs feeling like jelly.

"Thank you," he repeats, over and over again, breathlessly. "Thank you. Thank you."

He feels her doing something to her hands behind him, pulling something off her finger and shoving it back on again. Then she turns around in his arms so that her back is to his stomach, and holds out her right hand. "Look."

Her cladagh ring had been switched around, so that the heart pointed in towards her knuckles. He laughs. "Does that mean that I have your heart then?"

"Keep it safe for me, I've only got the one," she jokes, leaning back, looking up at him and grinning.

Here is nothing funny about the serious way in which he promises her. "I will."

WHOOHOO! That's chapter two finished! It took me a while, three days to type, because as soon as the inspirations started to hit I was called away to do chores, or to food, or once to go to the orthodontist to get the bracket put back on my tooth (I ate a piece of baguette too enthusiastically.) I will now have to do the rest of the story in the same way, but hopefully with not to long a gap between updates!

Thank you all, and please like, comment and review!


	3. Chapter 3:Dates, MatesWeird Mistakes

Well, this took ages. Firstly because I changed so much of the plot in the previous chapter, and secondly because I was never happy with this chapter to begin with (there were too many plot holes and character defects.) So, after much long and prolonged binging on sweet milky tea and Terry Pratchett, managed to write this out.

P.S to explain the reference to"a sod of a day" later on: Sods law is that if the day starts out wrong, and you think that things can't get any worse... they get worse and worse and worse. Some days you wake up and they're just sod days. Not fun.

Please like, comment and review! And as always, enjoy the chapter! *bows and exits before tea goes cold*

How can it have only been a week?

A week since Ryou kissed you, a week since Sio met Marik, a week since school began, and yet... it feels as though you've been a part of this for years. This country, there s school, this way of life are all different...

But then again, so am I. You hug your books to your chest and bend your head down, smiling slightly at the thought. The smile fades. And now I'd better get to class before Ryou's fan girls find me again...

The bell rings. The school day starts.

...And ends.

Sionnach rushes to her locker, slamming it open and shoving all her books in before yanking her bag out and stuffing it with homework, unable to stop the crazy smile from spreading across her face.

The idiot finally did it! She crows in her head. Finally!

Zipping it shut, she swings it onto her shoulder and speedwalks out. Her face goes from happy to bored, pretending to dig in he pockets for her iPod and headphones. Just like any other student at the gate.

Waiting to be spotted.

An arm slips around her waist. Inside, she grins. Result.

"Hello, gorgeous," Marik purrs beside her ear, deftly leaning in and kissing her once on the forehead. Sionnach glares at him before it breaks into a smirk and she pulls away from his grasp, eyes gleaming.

"Goodbye, pretty," she winks, and heads towards the gate. Marik grabs her hand and pulls her to a halt, smirking back.

"I thought we were going to tell (Y/N) that we're going out now though. What happened to that plan?" He steps in closer, lowering his voice to a murmur. "Unless you want to do something else this evening..."

"Ugh, no! I thought i told you, no sex," she grumbles, but then he smiles at her and she can feel her cheeks turn red.

"I was only playing with you... verbally," he adds. She slaps his hand away and starts to walk in the direction of Domino High.

"G'way outta that now!" But he just laughs and catches up with her, easily falling into step with her long strides.

"So? What's the plan?" He asks, tugging lightly at a lock of her hair. Sionnach just smiles.

"You'll find out when we get there."

"Ryou?"

"Yes?" He's waiting for you to pack your books into your bag, his own on the floor beside his feet. You will probably never find out the mystery of his super fast bag packing. Honestly, it's a miracle of nature the way he's already ready and waiting by the door with his bag on his back while you're still trying to find room for your pencilcase, even though you were both in the same classroom at the same time.

Finally, you close your full to maximum capacity bag and heave it onto your shoulders with a huff. "Why is Kaiba such a dick? The first time I've ever seen him in school, and he just sits there and types stuff on his laptop." You fall into step with each other easily now that the schoolyard rush is over. "And then the one time he says something to me is to comment on how much of a lowlife I am because I don't make time to play Duel Monsters."

"Hes had an sort of hard life," Ryou admits, glancing down at you. "His parents died, so his relatives spent all the money they were left with and shoved them into an orphanage. Then he played a game of chess to get himself and his little brother into a rich home, the Kaiba family. He was forced into rapid learning by Gozaboro on business, game strategy, maths, languages... from what Mokuba hinted at, he had to wear a collar and was whipped repeatedly."

"Huh." Ryou frowns slightly at your reaction, not ready for what comes next. "Makes me realise how lucky I was to live the lifestyle I got." Looking up, you smile. "Hey, Sio. Hey, Marik."

"Hey," Sionnach replies, shouldering her own hefty school bag on to her other shoulder. Marik gives her an odd look and a little hand signal, clearly a "come on" gesture. She ignores it, and instead takes the lead with the Egyptian. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is chemistry going on between them.

"So, did you ask him, or did he ask you? It was probably him, to be honest, you and asking is an unconnected circuit in this brain," you say, casually, and by the way Marik stiffness up, you know you've hit the right target. Bingo!

"How did you-" Marik begins to splutter, but Sio just grins and glances back over her shoulder.

"Same night as you two, of course. We went out to lunch on Saturday, and by then it was a done deal." Grinning back at her, you punch her playfully in the arm, delighted with her success.

"And here was me thinking that you were as cold as ice, you sly thing, you."

"How do you know that I'm not still the Iron Woman? I could be just stringing this poor fecker along to break his heart," she retorts, turning to face the front. From behind, you can see Marik's arm slyly slip around hers. She doesn't push it away.

Yeah, right, Sio. You like him, you yell in your thoughts, a small smile on your face. But then Ryou twines his fingers around yours and pulls you back to let Sionnach and Marik go on ahead.

Looking up, his eyes are worried. "Do you mind if I ask you something? In private?" He asks, and you nod. Acid nerves churn in your stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he reassures you, running his hand through his hair distracted and looking away. "It's just...(Y/N), would you mind if this Saturday I took you somewhere?"

On a date? He added in his thoughts, a silent plea that he desperately wanted her to say yes to.

His eyes are worried, but also hopeful, and you blink at the question and turn away, blushing. On a date? But I've never been on a date, ive barely ever been out to town with anybody other that Sio! What if I mess things up? What if...

What if it happens and he sees me?

"(Y/N)?" She's biting her lip. A good sign or a bad sign? But then she looks at him from under her eyelashes, stepping closer and squeezing his hand.

"It'd have to be early evening, and last sign-in before curfew is eleven-thirty," she warns him, and they both start walking again. Ryou breathes an inaudible sigh of relief. Yes. But he tenses up again when her voice asks him, confused, "but why are you asking today? It's only Monday.. Saturday is ages away still."

"I'm visiting my mother and my onechan for a few days... from tomorrow until late Friday evening I'll be gone." He pulls his hand away. "Besides, I was afraid... you'd refuse..."

Because I'm not good enough.

Because of him.

To Ryou's surprise, she starts to blush. "I'd never refuse my first date." Smiling, she leans up and pecks him on the cheek. "Especially since it's you who's asking, Ryou."

"So... it's a yes?" He presses, as the block of flats draws closer.

Looking up at him, you grab his face and pull him in for a proper kiss, right there in front of the rest of the world, twisting your fingers into his hair while his arm tightens around your waist and his hand cups your cheek, holding the kiss in place. He sighs as you part, eyes full of wonder. "It's a yes," you whisper.

He walks you to your apartment and hugs you goodbye.

"Well, it took him long enough," is Sio's only comment when you tell her that evening over dinner, Marik having gone home hours earlier. "Did he tell you whether it was a formal or an informal?"

"Eh... no..." You say, slowly. "Should he have?"

"So it's probably going to be rather informal. Jeans and a t-shirt or something." Sionnach shovels another forkfull of food into her mouth. "Please come home in one piece, I don't want to be stuck doing the washing up for a month."

"What makes you think that I won't?" Offended, you glare at her lowered head. Ryou's not like that! The worst that could happen is that we both faint from all the blood rushing to our cheeks!

But... he's like that...

"Call it a hunch. Anyway, come on," and with that, she picks up her plate and cutlery, dumping them into the sink. "We need to do our homework."

Grumbling inside, you follow her example. You miss Ryou already.

"You and Ryou are going out officially? (Y/N), that's awesome!" Tea claps her hands together in delight before winking at you. "I told you he liked you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," you laugh, before sobering up again. The trip to school had been lonely without him beside you. "But not until Saturday, he's gone to visit his mother and his little sister for a few days."

"Really? Lucky guy." Joey scratches his head and nudges Yugi. "Wouldn't mind getting off school myself for a few days, what about you, Yug?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I wouldn't..." Yugi wakes up from staring into the inside of his head. You frown.

Seems he's been doing a lot of that lately, run your thoughts. And its funny, but I haven't seen his floating spirit friend either...

"Okay class, settle down, settle down!" The teacher knocks on his desk for order until everyone goes to their places. He coughs once everybody is silent and attentive, announcing, "So, we have a new student with us here today, and I want you all to give a very warm welcome to..."

But then he steps into the room, and the teacher's words are lost to your ears. It's him! Yugi's friend!

Proud. Handsome. A smirk dances around his lips as he takes in the classroom, softening slightly as he sees Yugi and the gang. From beside you, you can see Tea give a little wave.

So they all know him... probably no room for me in the clique anymore. Inside, under your bored exterior, your heart is beating a sickening thud, thud, thud that you're all too familiar with. I thought that I'd made friends... but never mind. Ryou will be back in a few days. He'll be back soon. A few days, that's all...

Over and over this mantra is repeated inside your skull to drown out the sickening sinking feeling of your heart. It also means that you fail to notice the way that Yami is looking at you intently, as though trying to place you from days long lost.

"Excuse me, sensei," Yami interrupts the teacher's flow of introduction, "but would you mind if I were to sit next to Yugi? He and I know each other of old."

The teacher sags, but nods and waves a hand as consent. As Yami's long, lanky frame prowls between the desks to his seat beside Yugi, you lower your head and close your eyes.

This is going to be the worst day in Japan...

You walk into the cafeteria on your own. The gang are chatting excitedly to Yami at their usual table, and laughing together. For the millionth time that day, you feel the pang of envy in your chest. I wish I had friends like that here... for when Ryou's away...

You get your food and start heading towards their table. The effect is instantaneous; silence spreads from the centre out, so that the sound of your tray on the table makes a loud clack. "Mind if I sit here again?" Mind if I interrupt your private conversation and make your lives a living hell?

"No, (Y/N), it's fine if you do." Tea smiles a bit, but it's sort of forced. No, (Y/N), now fuck off so that we can get back to whatever we were doing before you came here, you translate in your head. Silently, you begin to eat, keeping your head low and your eyes averted from everyone else.

Be small, be invisible, don't be a burden. Be silent and a mere face in the crowd. Be forgettable. Don't interfere with anything. Be polite. Better still, don't be there to be polite. Hide. Run away from all this. The world is not for you, it is for someone else. You are lower than the mud in the fields. The voice jeers on and on, repeating the same stuff over and over again. Loner. Nobody likes you.

Shut up.

Make me.

"So, what happened after you... left your home?" Joey asks Yami, being careful to speak in code. You can practically feel his eyes flicking towards you. "Did you just hide out at Yugi's?"

The spirit laughs. Pretty voice, at least. "Yes, and I nearly gave grandpa a heart attack every time I walked into the kitchen. But he eventually got the enrolment sorted out, as you can see," his hands gesture expansively over himself. You can see them even with your head down.

Then his voice changes slightly, becoming almost as if he was reading a script. "What I would very much like to know is who you are, miss...?"

Your hands tighten around your knife and fork as you keep your voice friendly. "Well, you were there with the rest of them when Ryou introduced me last week, spirit. Is your memory so bad that you don't recognise me, or could you just not see me?"

Tea, Joey and Tristan gasp. Yami chuckles, all pretence of acting gone. "So you really could see me... how intriguing." His chair creaks. He must be leaning forward. His voice turns persuasive. "Can I at least see your face properly when I talk to you, miss O'Hara?

Ignoring him, you continue chewing the food in your mouth, waiting for a few minutes before swallowing and saying, "no, for two reasons." You start loading your fork with more food. "One, because you wanted to see how much I knew before making conversation with me, and two, because I know that the moment I look at you, I'll punch that smug smirk off your face and see how pretty you look with a broken nose."

"(Y/N)!" Tea scolds as you pop the food into your mouth, but then Yami interrupts her.

"Its alright, Tea. She's probably just a little... wound up at the moment."

You place your knife and fork down neatly, side by side, not looking up. How dare he, that bastard! How dare he?

Low, quiet, dangerous is the tone of your voice. "You insult me."

"Do I?" He's not playing games any more. Shoving your chair back, you stand up, leaning your hands on the table, still looking down.

"You know full well that you do. Pharoah," you spit out, screaming inside. Your hands turn to fists. "I'll leave you all in peace to talk if you'll just fucking ask." But the bell rings just then, and you finally glance up and meet him, eye to eye. "Go n-eirí an t-ádh leat," you whisper, smile bitterly, and walk away before they can see your tears.

As usual, Sionnach and Marik are waiting at the gate for you at the end of school, you having rushed out and done a Ryou bag pack before the others could find you and try to talk to you. Sionnach looks up and smiles, but the smile turns to a frown and her eyes narrow.

"Hey," you greet her, failing at an attempt to smile. She glares back.

"You're crying. You've been crying. Who made you cry? What did they do to make you cry? What happened?" She grabs your wrist and your face crumpled up with the effort of not letting the tears escape. "Oh, Christ, (Y/N)..." she mutters, pulling you in for a hug and shoving your head onto her shoulder where the tears soak into the fabric of her jumper. "You must have had a real sod of a day."

"Poor thing," Marik murmurs in agreement. It's all you can do to concentrate on breathing instead of sobbing like a child.

But then their voices can be heard across the schoolyard, calling out to you, and you tighten your vice like grip on Sio's shoulder. Oh shit, not them again...

Unfortunately, Sionnach hears them too.

"OI!" She screams at them, yanking you closer posessively. Oh, deeper Shit. "What the fuck have you lot done to her? She hasn't been like this since Prissy died, four years ago! Come over hare an' oi'll bate the crap outta yez!"

"Came to-apologise-" you hear Yami pant, out of breath. "Didn't know-Ryou -explained-"

"So you basically left her as a loner while ye all had a grand aowld time? Some friends you lot are." Sionnach snorts. "It'll be up to her to decide whether or not to accept it, and that'll surely take her a while for the state she's in. Lave her alone till tomorrow."

"I need to talk to her about something though." Yami sounds desperate, not helped by being winded. "Alone."

"Tomorrow, spirit! Can you not see that she's off her head!" Sio snaps. Time to come out.

"Sio, it's f-f-fine," you manage to sob out, pulling yourself up off her shoulder and trying to wipe away the tears with your sleeve, unsuccessfully. "Let him s-say what he needs to."

Sionnach glares at Yami before muttering under her breath. Marik touches her arm, gingerly. "I know the pharoah from a while back, foxy, he's trustworthy. Let him have his say and then we can all go home, yes?"

"Fine." She stalks off just far enough to be unable to hear, but close enough to still be able to see. Yami stands there, watching you with sad eyes. You hate him for it.

Reaching out, he hesitates and places his hand on your shoulder. "I'm sorry. I was afraid that you were unable to see me, and that it was all an error." He gulps and presses on. "Please do not be upset at the others either; they were merely trying to protect us. You are, after all, only just known to them. It we to be suspected that you were unaware -"

"How?" You half hiccup, half growl out. "I'm going out with someone who has a psychopath stuck in their body with them, did you suspect that maybe, just maybe, he might have forgotten to mention your history?"

"I was afraid!" Yami bursts out, his face suddenly passionate, taking his hand off of your shoulder, only to grab your hand in both of his. You jerk at the contact as he keeps going. "I was afraid that you were not who I remembered you to be, that you were just a lookalike for who you really are, that it was all my fantasy that you could see me. I was so afraid... " he lifts your hand up and kisses it, his eyes meeting yours over your knuckle. "My queen."


	4. Chapter 4: Do You Love Me?

Woah... I've had to split this chapter into two parts... or else make another chapter name for this one! This is one of my favourite chapters apart from the lemon chapters, and I'm going to mention here it does get slightly zesty towards the end, but not exactly lemony. limey? Would I really have to warn my readers that my story has English people in it? (History reference lol).  
*ahem* so anyways. Enjoy this chapter, and as I keep saying without people listening, please please PLEASE like comment and/or review! It makes my day to see an inbox full of people talking to me!

Pronunciation:  
Sionnach=sheoh-nokh  
Éibhlís=eye-leesh

You stare at the pharoah in shock. _His queen?_

"What?" You croak, your tearstained eyes wide.

"My queen," he repeated, covering your hand in his own again. "Long have I waited to find you again, my love, and now I have, and I beg you to forgive me of my past actions. I have been wrong so many..." he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, as if to calm his rising distress. "So many times before. I tried to find you, tried so hard, but all in vain.."

"Enough of this!" You rip your hand away from his and glare at him, cradling it to your chest as though it's been burned. "How can you say all of that stuff after what you did to me earlier on? I thought that I had friends here, proper friends, and then _you_ show up and you force me to see that actually, I don't, what I have is a load of - of **_nothing_**." Shaking your head, you back away from him, him and his pleading purple eyes. "Go away with your shit about me being your queen. I'm just me. Nothing else, d'you understand? Nothing else..."

He watches you cover your mouth with your sleeve to stop the sob, the stupid tears pouring unchecked down your cheeks, and you hate him even more for it. _I want Ryou here, he'd know what to do. God, Ryou... why did you have to go?_

"(Y/N)," Yami whispers, reaching out for you again. But you jerk away, won't let him near you. He drops his arm, hurt. "Are you saying that you... don't remember me?"

 _Remember him? I've never met him before in my life! Why would I remember him?_ Your face says all to him, and he looks away, biting his lip. "I see."

 _See what, you fool? I'm not yours to love anyway!_ Your mind rails, but you can't help but feel a tiny piece of pity for him. _He believes so much..._

He looks at you again, a tiny ray of hope on his face. "But if you do remember me... and your emotions towards me change...will you accept my love for you? Will you be my queen again, just as you were meant to be?"

Your mind goes blank with panic before your mouth moves for you. "I'll... think about it," you mutter, turning away.

"Thank you. That is all I ask for." He falls silent for a second, then adds, "and we really do want to be friends with you, (Y/N). You're already our friend. We don't want you to think we're not yours."

A nod, small enough to be almost missable, but he sees it anyway and smiles just as Sionnach storms up and grabs you roughly by the arm. "That's enough of that, now. She needs to get home and rest, without ye all crowding her like that."

"But-" Yugi stutters, his big innocent eyes looking helplessly on. Sionnach sighs and taps her foot.

"Yugi, look at the state she's in. She can barely deal with me as it is. Best thing for her will be a good night's sleep, and she'll be her normal friendly self after that. Alright?"

The poor boy nods glumly as you're dragged away.

The rest of the week passed ... pretty well, all things considered. But things would be better when Ryou came back. Yami didn't say anything to you: he just smiled slightly and looked on as the others got back into their usual routine with you of class, food, fun and pranks. Not to mention Joey and Tristan's Panty Tank in the technology room. You laughed yourself silly for the rest of the day at the memory.

But eventually Saturday rolled around, and of course you had a hurling match between one half of the Irish transfers and the other, and obviously your team won - but not without several injuries being sustained on both sides.

It is to this effect that you wince when Sionnach hugs you good luck and presses too hard onto what's turning into the mother of all astroturf cuts on your side. "Don't make out too much, Bubbles," she smirks, pulling away. Gingerly, you touch the injury, flinching slightly at the sharp ouch that your brain sends you. _Jesus, this stings_.

Don't hug so hard, cuddles, it hurts," you complain, pulling on your long cardigan over your t-shirt and jeans and slipping your feet into your trainers. Sionnach just grins at you cheekily.

"Yeah, that was a great tackle that Éibhlís gave you, wasn't it?"

"Tell me about it," you snort, just as you hear a buzz at the door. "Oops, gotta go!"

"Come home in one piece, and for Christ's sakes don't run!" She yells at you, but you're too busy grabbing your bag and throwing open the door to notice, flinging yourself into the arms if the familiar figure outside of it. "Ryou!"

 _Warm, comfortable,_ _ **safe.**_ He stumbles back a bit at the force of your exit, but his arms are already wrapping around your smaller frame and pulling you tightly against him. You snuggle into him, sighing happily, tilting your head towards his for a sly kiss.

"(Y/N) I missed you so much," he tells her, and she kisses him again so that the butterflies in his stomach go into a frenzy.

"I missed you too. Now," she pulls away from him and grabs his hand, "where are we going? Is there food there? I'm starving."

"Really? You haven't eaten?" Her hand is warm. Her face is happy. But... _she seems different... like she's hiding something..._

"I wasn't allowed to do anything except drink tea. She thinks you'll feed me for free."

"Well..." it's cold as they step outside and begin to walk. "I was thinking of taking you out for a meal anyway..."

"But," she prompts. He blushes and smiles at her.

"But then I thought, what would (Y/N) like to do as well as that? And then I thought, well, why not go somewhere with food and an activity?"

She tugs on his arm in annoyance. "So what is it?" She tugs harder, like a child. "Tell me tell me tell me!"

Ryou laughs but keeps on walking, towing her with him. "Its a surprise, you'll see!" Glancing back, she makes a face at him before skipping back to his side, her hair blown across her face by the wind, into her eyes. He's always been captivated by her eyes.

"So how was your family?" Ryou freezes for a moment, unsure, before he pastes on a smile again.

"They were in good form. My sister was happy to see me again." _But mother wasn't._ He could tell that she was disappointed with him every time she looked at him, a stranger in his own family home. He had changed. They hadn't.

(Y/N) is silent for a while, watching the pavement. Her hand squeezes his. "Something made you sad. What happened?"

"(Y/N)..." she looks up at him, and he squeezes her hand back. "Can't that wait until after our date? Please?" Her fingers twine through his, her mouth opening to say something, but he stops her. "I want you to enjoy tonight, and if I tell you then you'll want to hear the whole story, so please don't ask again."

Pursing her lips, she looks down again. "I won't."

"Thank you."

 _But I want you to enjoy tonight too,_ you add mentally. His figure beside you is reassuring, but it also brings new questions to light. _Who are you, Ryou? How can I help you if you don't show me the you that you are?_

You're so lost in your own thoughts that you don't even realise that you're at your destination until Ryou stops. "We're here."

Frown. Stare at it, the incredulousness rising in your mind. "A nightclub?"

"And a restaurant. This one's a nice one, the music isn't too loud and the food is good. Come on."

"But, Ryou..." he stops and looks at you, the worry rising in his face.

"You don't like dancing?" Crestfallen, he sighs. "We can go somewhere else then..."

"Its not that I don't like dancing, it's just... it's a nightclub. Full of people. And..." You take a deep breath and let the words out. "I can't dance. I never went out to dances, I won't know what to do and I'll show you up..."

"Is that all?" You give a start and stare at him. He's covering his mouth with his other hand to hide a smile and looking at you. "(Y/N), I can teach you easily. And you'll pick it up as your go along. It's fun, it really is."

You give him a long, slow gaze while inside everything just gives up and closes for the weekend. "Oh...kaaay..." You say. _Ah, what the hell._ "Sure, it'll be grand," you shrug, and he leads you in and onto the dance floor.

Teenagers and young people are crowding all around you, but his hand never leaves yours as he finds the centre and pulls you into his arms. "Dancing is easy if you just sway to the beat first." His hands are on your hips, and the contact is like a personal lightning bolt zapping straight to your nervous system every time he adjusts them while he sways with you, his eyes never leaving yours, no matter how much you blush. And by God are you blushing now, the heat making your face a microwave. Suddenly, he smiles and takes your hand, pulling it up above your head and turning it so that you lose your balance and - almost by accident - do a twirl. "Ryou!" You squeal as he does it again, this time the other way around, back to the way you started. He laughs, and you grin, suddenly enjoying moving to the beat. You let go of his hand and throw your arms in the air, spinning quickly before stepping back into his chest. "This is fun."

"I was afraid of what you'd do." Ryou can barely be heard over the voice of the DJ announcing a couples' dance. Stepping forward, you turn to face him and put your arms around his neck as his hands close around your hips.

"What were you afraid of?" You whisper, searching his eyes for a hint. They're sad, but glad, and you wonder about them, swaying in a circle to the slow beat. His hips bump against yours, and he blushes, but keeps his gaze fixed on you.

"When you found out about Bakura. I was afraid that you'd leave me like everyone else did." He's uncertain, pained, and it hurts in your heart to see him like this. "Or you'd stay with me for him, and I'd just be in the way..."

He closes his eyes and sighs, his breath warm on your cheek. Sadness and anger mix in your heart. _How can he think that I'd do that? I like him! Not anybody else!_

 _I_ _ **love**_ _him..._

"Ryou," you say, sharply. "Ryou, look at me." He does, and your breath hitches in your chest at the thought of what you're going to do, what you've wanted to do, deep down, since he'd come back. Stopping your swaying, you wrap a lock of his hair around your finger and pull his head down until his lips are only a breath away. "I want you to promise me something." Without giving him time to reply you close the distance between you and kiss him hard, harder than you ever have, lips moving against his until he responds and presses you against him. He reaches up from your hips and up to your neck, pulling your head back with a groan. Nothing else matters except what he's doing to you, and what you're doing to him.

One hand fists in his shirt, keeping him close. The other strokes down along his cheek, his jaw, his neck, back up to his temple, and he gasps against your mouth at the sensation.

Warm fingers stroke the nape of your neck, slowly bunching in your hair. You can't stop yourself from shivering with delight, or the small breathy moan from escaping your throat.. _Yes..._

The tension in his chest mounting, he pulls away from her to breathe. But then she whispers in his ear, "hold me tight. Let me stay with you. And..." she's starting to sob, hot tears landing on his top and soaking through to his skin as she hugs him. "Never let me go, you eejit, because I wouldn't leave you over a silly thing like that!"

"(Y-Y/N)," he calls out, softly, surprised at her reaction, but also at his. He pulls her out from his embrace and kisses away her salty tears. "I love you, I promise I'll stay with you forever, just... I love you, (Y/ N), I love you," kissing her gratefully, smiling with delight, and now she's smiling too, and he can't even begin to tell her about the strange full feeling in his heart. She gasps against his lips, her breathing ragged, pulling away and looking up at him. Ryou wonders whether anyone else sees her glowing, or if it's just him imagining things.

 _Her eyes are shining like stars...she's so beautiful..._

"Ryou," she breathes, and then presses herself against him, a laugh bubbling out of her. "I love you too, Ryou, and I always will, just so long as you listen to this," tapping his chest.

And with that, Ryou pulls her into the swamp of dancers and out of the dance hall, the cold air hitting them like a sledgehammer.

A voice whispers in Ryou's mind. _"My turn."_  
He staggers against the wall of the alley, clutching his chest and groaning. Your heart stutters with fear in your chest before Yami Bakura slowly straightens up, his white teeth flashing as he grins devilishly in the neon glow of the streetlight.

Moving unbelievably fast, he grabs your wrist and yanks you into him. "Hello, dear, it's been a while," he purrs, dark eyes gleaming with malicious intent.

 _Oh, shit_.

Gripping your waist in one arm, with his free hand he lifts up yours to his mouth, planting an open kiss against it, his hot tongue flickering against your skin. His eyes are locked onto yours as you squirm in his iron grip. Dropping your hand, you jump and cry out at the sensation of his long, slender fingers playing pinpoints of warmth across your cold cheek. They're alien, and you shudder uncontrollably at the unfamiliarity of the feeling.

Bakura's hand cups your cheek, curiosity reflected in his face. His head cocks to one side, taking in your reaction slightly, before a smirk flashes across his features and he kisses you hard.

You gasp and struggle as his arm snakes around your waist and you're pushed against the cold brick wall. Despite your struggles, the first thing you notice is how much more confident he is compared to Ryou - a panther compared to a house cat. A whimper leaves your mouth, his hands roaming all over your body, to places not even Ryou knew about, pressing and squeezing your breasts, shoving you harder against the wall -

You yell as he presses on the series of cuts on your side. Bakura growls, grabbing your upper arms, his eyes seething with rage, towering over you. "You're hurt."

It isn't a question. It's a statement, and it makes you realise that Ryou had avoided that spot all evening. _He_ _ **knew..**_.

Bakura grabs your chin roughly, drawing you closer to his face. This time it isn't for a kiss. "You didn't tell him? Who did this? You had better tell me!"

"I didn't know you'd decide to come out for a bit of fresh air, now, did I?" You glare at him, half angry, half afraid of his tall shape blocking your way. "Besides, it's nothing to do with the likes of you."

He snarls and slams you into the wall harder so that you're winded. Unable to get a breath properly, your head spins as he leans in and hisses in your ear, "My foolish landlord has emotions for you that I can't help but notice, which means that I take an interest." As the oxygen fills your blood again, his hands push you up so that your feet don't touch the ground and your level with his mouth. "And anything that keeps my interest the way that you do I have a right to call mine."

"Wh-" _ohshitohshit he wants to have sex with me! Like I'm nothing more than a whore on the street!_ going limp against the wall in an effort to stop the pain, your mind blazes with a debate between absolute terror and indignation. _And I haven't even had dinner yet!_

But even in the few seconds it took for your thoughts to string into coherent sentences, Bakura has still managed to both put his hands into rather incriminating places and start the inquisition again... in more ways than one.

"Who did this to you?" He murmurs against your ear before biting down hard on the lobe and chuckling with dark enjoyment at your groan. The hand that isn't holding you up in your torture is currently being used to grope your body a and turn your insides into a hot, liquid mess. "If you tell me, I might even let you enjoy this..."

"N-no - let go..." _Agh my_ _ **neck**_ _this is so good... but so wrong..._ Bakura bites down again in the spot, and once he realises that its sensitive, he attacks it viciously over and over again. This time the moan from your mouth is louder, and he growls against your now torn skin.

"Told you you'd enjoy this, wench." Hot tongue swirls over your exposed collarbone, but he won't stop the nips that cause your blood to flow and your breath to come in breathy pants and gasps. He's getting you worked up into a sex drive so that he can have his way more easily, and unfortunately it seems to be working. In the cold of the night, you burned, and there was an uncomfortable slickness that was screaming _take me now_ between your legs.

"Ah, ahh..."

 _But I can't give in to him as easily as that..._

His grip is strong, but you begin to wriggle again, dislodging his mouth from making its mark any further down your body while he growls. "Bitch..."

"Let me go, now!" With a grunt of effort, you introduce his cock to your friend Mr. Kneecap. You can feel how hard it is even through the tightness of his jeans. He doubles over but only tightens his grip on you as you slide down the wall back to solid ground with a thump.

 _Time to fight_.

(Y/ N) keeps struggling against him, giving him a hell of a time trying to keep her in place, trying to keep her subdued. Even though the battle is enjoyable (working up his appetite too, shall we say) he's getting even more pissed off by the second.

 _Fucking hell, she just won't break, will she?_  
He grits his teeth and snarls with the effort as she starts to kick. Grip tightening, a sadistic thought creeps into his mind. _Perhaps she needs a little...encouragement._

Her flesh is soft and warm under his touch as he manages to shove her back into submission for long enough to brush up her side - and start to tease over the abnormality of her injury that mars her beautiful skin, pressing down as he strokes over it, smirking at the muffled cry of pain that's the result. Not for the first time, his thoughts wander over to what it would be like to slam his cock inside of her body and have her writhing and screaming under him for more...

 _Enough of that now, thief. Vengeance, then the prize,_ he chides himself. Leaning in, he strokes over her injuries again, watching her face tighten. "Tell me who inflicted this pain on you, sweetheart. Let me give them sevenfold of it back to them for daring to harm you."

Your breathing grows short, and you search his face for a clue. His touch hurts, but there's something else as well, something intimate about the way it feels, about the way he's looking at you. _About the way he's so close he could kiss me_. "Don't tell me that you actually _care_ about me, Bakura," you say. His expression grows darker, colder.

"I want you to be mine. Now, who did it?" Presses down harder, and you flinch away from the contact. "Who hurt you, (Y/ N)?"

"Someone who didn't mean any harm in a game. That's all there is to know, and that's the full truth of it." He makes a tch sound and is about to demand more when you see his face and add, quickly, "the whole point of a game is to win at any costs, Bakura, you know that. I just happened to be one of the casualties this time."

"To win at any costs," he mutters, expression unreadable, lost in a thought. But then he looks back up slyly, eyes ablaze with desire. A dark chuckle finds its way out of his throat, one hand pulling your chin up so that your mouths are a hairs breadth apart. "I'll win you eventually, you know."

"How about step one to win, we go and get me food?" You growl. Nerves and fear and annoyance and total and utter hangriness clang together, but the hangriness speaks the loudest. "I'm fecking starving, thief. I'm not doing anything until I'm fed."

He laughs and drops your chin, taking your arm in a firm grip instead so that you won't escape from him. Freed from your uncomfortable position, he smirks at you, gesturing towards the alley exit. "After you, my lady."

"Not quite," you grumble under your breath, stepping out into the street... and into Ushio and his thugs.


	5. Chapter 4: Continued

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here!" Ushio smiles and motions for two of his thugs to grab you and Bakura, pinning your arms in a lock so that you can't move unless you want to dislocate your shoulders. Not that you aren't in pain already with your scabs on your side cracking and the muscles tearing. "Heard you having a right old time in the alley, sweet thing."

Bakura growls, and Ushio shoots him a look. "But you know, I think that trying to do it in an alley with a son of a bitch like him instead of with a law-abiding Hall Monitor like me is a bit ... off." Sneering, he kicks Bakura in the stomach, making him fold over coughing. "Not so tough now that your little pals are gone, though. All the better for your punishment."

"Leave him be, Ushio! What do you want?" You glare at him, afraid for the sadistic albino even after what he's done. _I hope Ryou's body will be alright._ "Why are you doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I thought you'd have figured it out already, a smart girl like you." He steps towards you and takes out a wicked looking knife, a beatific expression on his face, and holds the point of it under your chin so that you have no choice but to tilt your head up. It pricks but hasn't drawn any blood... yet. Smirking at your discomfort, he places his hand on your shoulder. "It's a crime that a girl like you and a guy like him should be going out together. I mean, he's an animal. And you, my dear, are... angelic."

 _If he had any idea of what he'd just said, I'd be a goner!_ But you keep yourself the same way you were, not giving away any hints. Bakura looks murderous, the way that you feel _. That little prick, trying to get me away from Ryou! What does he_ -

Ushio finishes your thought, your heart plummeting into your stomach. "And it's a saying around here that a pretty girl needs a strong man to protect her... and I'm a very strong man, kitten." The goon behind you sniggers at your discomfort and readjusts his sliding grip -

 ** _BAM_**!

Kick Ushio away and rip out of the goons grip, barely avoiding the knife and the fists. Meanwhile, the noises from Bakura's direction indicate that he's dealing well with his own crowd. A quick glance shows him going down and dirty with a right hook, then a sneaky foot to Sleepy Town. Ushio's choker hold from behind you distracts you back to what you're doing.

 _Can't breathe!_ And you're off the ground, so you swing your feet in front of you and then give an almighty kick to what you hope is his soft spot. It is when the result is being dropped. Twirling around to do it again, bring your knee up as he doubles over in pain so that his chin cracks against it, then duck and elbow the other one in the face, picking up a handy piece of wood and the sliothar from out of your pocket, throwing it into the air as he starts to run and whacking it into his head at fifteen paces. He cries out and falls to the ground, and you nod in satisfaction of a job well done. Screams and gurgles from behind you announce the end of Bakura's reign of terror.

His footsteps echo across the footpath as you bend down to pick up your sliothar. "It wasn't my best shot, but it did the job," you remark, not turning around. He chuckles, stopping just behind you.

"The foolish mortal. Of all the prizes, and he had to choose my one." His voice turns into a growl. "He'll pay dearly for making that mistake."

"But not tonight, Bakura. I don't want any more of this tonight, it's too late and I'm still waiting for food." _And I don't want to be here when you take your so called revenge on him, either, you add silently_. After hearing some of Joey's more graphic descriptions, you really didn't want to witness them first person.

"There is one thing that I agree with Ushio on, however." He takes your arm again and turns you around to face him, reaching out to tuck a strand of loose hair behind your ear. "Why Ryou, (Y/ N)?" His tone is dangerous. "Why my ridiculous host instead of me?"

"He's not ridiculous."

"And you're not his."

"I'm not yours," you retort, and his eyes grow hard.

"Answer my question." But you tug your arm away and begin to walk in the direction of home. He grabs it again and pulls you to a stop. "Answer me, damn you! Why him and not me?"

"You really want to know?" She snaps, her beautiful eyes fierce and annoyed. With her free hand she gestures around, taking in the expanse of the empty road. "When I was lost, he set me right. When I was alone he did his best to make me feel welcome. He cares about me, Bakura, and he's the first boy that I've ever known apart from family to do so! Yes, he's shy, yes, he's afraid that I'll leave him, but I won't because I love him and he loves me back! And if that doesn't answer your question then I don't know what will."

 _But I want you to be with me, not with him. Not with anybody else_. Bakura's mouth won't work, and he curses himself for being so weak. _I should have just fucked her in the alley and marked her that way!_

But he wanted to experience what his pathetic excuse for a host did, every time he was with her - the warmth of her hand, the way she smiled at him, the knowledge that she was his and was happy to make him happy. Her kiss first thing in the morning when they met, last thing at night before they parted, her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed close to him. Bakura craved them, and despised himself for craving them. _I want her to know me, trust me. Ryou, you lucky bastard, how dare you seduce her away from me?_

Finally he finds his voice. "You answered it well enough," he mutters, his face sullen. She tries to tug her arm out of his grasp again, but he tightens his grip.

"Then why are you still holding onto me?" She tugs again, harder, and Bakura yanks her into him and wraps his arms around her, burying his head in her hair.

"Because I don't want to let you go," he forces the words out, and suddenly it gets... easier, to let everything out. "I want you to love me. I want you to smile at me and kiss me just because I'm there. I want what he has," he spits out, bitterly. She's stiff in his grip. "I want you to say you love me and listen to me say it back and _know that we fucking mean it._ "

She stays still in his grip for a while longer, and he starts to get frustrated. _Did she not hear anything that I just said?_ But then she whispers, her voice trembling. "Ryou was scared that you didn't have a heart."

"Everyone has a heart. It's just that mine is in my mummified corpse buried under tons of sand, so I'm borrowing his."

"That's not funny." But you relax in his grip. _He hugs nicely, anyway._ Then, remembering the dancing, and the words that you told Ryou, you feel guilty, before an idea strikes you. _I won't be a hypocrite_. "Bakura?"

"What?"

"Lets go home, I'm starving. And Bakura?" Leaning up, you peck his cheek. "Try and follow your heart and I'll love you, alright?"

Both of you walk up the apartment steps in silence, but Bakura keeps holding your arm until you reach Ryou's door. Nerves start gnawing at your stomach, and you desperately wish that he won't try anything. _But he's kept mostly to himself all the way home..._ you muse, his tall shape leaning past you to unlock the door. He gestures towards the dark apartment. "Ladies first."

You step in, turn on he light and walk into the kitchen to sit down at the table. Bakura stands in the doorway and looks at you, a small smile flickering around the edges of his mouth. "Cook for me."

The smile drops. "What?"

"Cook for me. Ryou promised me dinner, but since he's not here, you're going to have to do something. So cook." He looks a bit lost, poor thing, and so as you pass him in the doorway you pat his shoulder sympathetically. "Call me when it's ready."

You can't help but smile when he can't see your face.

The kitchen has been silent for a while, but there's a wonderful smell wafting out of the door, and your mouth waters and your stomach grumbles and WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG IM STARVED! Messages resounding your brain. Finally, Bakura's voice comes out of the doorway as well as the yummy smell. "(Y/ N)."

"Coming!" You call, and put down the book that you were reading. The table in the kitchen is set for two, with plates, glasses, cutlery and - you stare at this - a candle. Bakura dishes up the stir-fry he had made and sits opposite you as you begin digging in to the mountain of Chinese style deliciousness with sounds of appreciation.

Halfway throughout the meal, Bakura spoke. "I must be a good cook."

Still eating, you look up to see him smirking at you and you nod, vigorously. He was, it was insane how delicious this meal tastes. You swallow and say, "where did you learn to cook like that? I don't think his is an Egyptian dish, for some strange reason."

He grins wolfishly, eyes gleaming. "Get Ryou to let me out more often and you'll find that food isn't the only thing I can cook up, love." Something inside you sighs with longing. You get what he means.

"If you want to even think about thinking about trying that, why don't you just take on solid form, like Yami and Yugi did?" You surprise yourself by saying that, and surprise Bakura even more, his face tightening at the mention of the Pharoah.

"The pharoah has a body now, eh? Since when did you know that?" Clicking his tongue, he shakes his head. "It is... unimportant. To answer your question, there is a way to separate out our bodies, but they require certain key elements. We are the light and dark, but the phase of the moon, the way the winds are blowing and even whether or not it has rained are crucial." Raising his eyebrow at you, Bakura finishes his meal and shoves his plate away only to place his chin on his hands to watch you eat, eyes following your every movement. It's a bit unnerving. "Unfortunately, the ritual also calls for an ingredient only listed as the "holy tie that binds", which neither myself nor my host have any clue about."

 _Holy tie that binds... where have I heard that phrase before?_ Shoving the last forceful into your mouth, you pick up your things and go to dump them into the sink before looking at the clock. "Jesus," you mutter. _No wonder I'm so tired, it's past midnight..._

"What's wrong?" You jump slightly and whirl around only to be facing Bakura's chest, the shock of which causes you to nearly fall into the sink. His arm shoots out and wraps around your back, catching you before pulling you so that it's against his chest, his hands clasped around your stomach. His laugh tickles your ear. "That was quite the reaction, you know."

"It's not my fault that you move like a bloody ghost," you mumble, before tapping his hands. "You can let me go now."

"And why would I do that?" You yelp as your legs are suddenly whipped out from underneath you and you're in his arms, his eyes glittering with amusement and something else, something darker, hungrier. You push at his chest, feebly trying to break his grip, but for some strange reason a part of toy wants to see what he'll do. It sends a shiver down your spine, chilling and terrifying you to your very bones.

"Don't push me away, love, "he chides you, and you can see his face become slightly bitter. "Don't push away again after pulling me in, it isn't fair." His hair tickles your cheek as he leans in, his breath a hot ghost of a kiss on your lips. "Do you love me yet?"

The jerk of your heart tells you all you need to know, your cheeks flushed and your breath trembling at his closeness. You can't look into his eyes. "I... I don't know," you whisper. _You're dark and possessive and rough and fierce and overconfident and proud and you're sadistic and I just can't figure you out... why do I have to see things? I wish I'd never found out that I'm -_  
 _Stop that thought!_ "You scare me. A lot."

"That's a start, at least." But you still can't look into his eyes, and his voice becomes warning. "(Y/ N)."

"Wh-what?" You stutter. You glance back up into his eyes and feel all the resistance drain away from you at the hard, lust filled look. His hand creeps up your back to cup your neck, and you gasp slightly at it.

It tightens its grip as he stares at you. "I'm tired of being pushed away," he whispers, before his mouth moves over yours in a brutal claiming.

You cry out, try to wriggle free, but he bunches his hand in your hair and drags your head back for total dominance over you, and a part of you responds to it, wanting him to be rougher, needing his body. Groaning, you grab his face and yank him into the kiss, reaching out, searching for a way to get closer to him, merge into him, feeling the wet sucking sensation of your sex begging to be filled.

Bakura growls and bites down on your lower lip, forcing your mouth open and greedily shoving his tongue in to explore his new territory. It feels so intimate that it makes you want to scream, but all you can do is moan into the kiss and move your hands down to his chest to dig your nails in. He seems to approve of your reaction, because he takes out his tongue and starts to kiss down your neck to where he bit you in he alleyway, pulling at the torn skin with his teeth. "Do you love me now, sweetheart?" He purrs. Almost unknowingly you tilt your neck to give him better access, breath coming in short shallow gasps.

"I... I -" he bites down hard, and you cry out, arching your back in the feeling. "Bakura, please..."

"Do you love me, (Y/ N)?" He repeats, getting frustrated, getting rougher. He shoves his hand under your top and under your bra, rubbing your tits. You close your eyes and grit your teeth, whimpering.

 _Jesus_ _ **Christ -**_

"Bakura - please, Bakura, I love you, I do, I do -" you sob out the words, surprised to find that they're true. But then your mind goes back to what his body is doing to yours, and you moan again, loudly. "'Kura-!"

 _Shit, she's making me so hard.._. Bakura feels the first smug wave of triumph _. I got her to say that she loves me, though... time for her reward..._

He moves back to her mouth and keeps her occupied as he stumbles into the bedroom and dumps her onto the bed, climbing on top of her and pulling away, panting. He smirks. She's disoriented, her pretty face flushed and her eyes glazed, half closed. Something strange and warm comes into his heart, and lovingly he strokes a finger over her bruised lips. "I love you, sweetheart," he murmurs, eyes gleaming. He strokes his fingers over her cheek, down to her neck, satisfied at the huge hickeys he's left her before leaning in and slamming his mouth back over hers again.

Something's different... she's heating up underneath him and a glance at her after he pulls away -  
 _She's glowing!_

Bakura pulls away from you and you can feel yourself growing hotter, the light from your body shining and illuminating the shock on his face before it creases up in pain and he doubles over, clutching his chest. "What - Ryou -" he gasps, before staring in awe at you. "It can't be..."

A shooting pain in your chest makes you clutch at it. _Strange, I've never felt pain before,_ a detached part of your mind wonders. _Maybe it's to do with the proximity of the darkness of the millennium ring_... however, the rest of you is concentrated on not screaming _. This really hurts -_

Bakura suddenly pulls you into him, holding your curled up form. But now there seem to be two of him and the millennium ring is glowing and as the waves of tiredness start dragging you off to unconsciousness you think you hear both Ryou and his Yami calling your name before the darkness of sleep claims you. 

AAAND finished chapter four! All will be revealed in the next chapter, for those that are even bothering to read my story, which I think is nobody be a use somehow I'm getting minus views. Yes you heard me right, minus views. So if there is anyone out there, please like, comment and review it, it would makes eternally grateful. 


	6. Chapter 5: Secrets Revealed

p data-p-id="b4341cc59e22138186af158707ec44e3"emAm I dreaming/em?/p  
p data-p-id="eae98494d296d2ae003d50fac43ae854"There is a garden, shining beautifully in the moonlight. The scent of roses hangs on the warm air, now turning cool without the heat of the sun. You step forward. The grass is wonderfully cool against your bare feet and you look down to see that you're wearing a woven tunic of light green fabric. A plaited leather girdle is wrapped around your waist, and below the hem of your tunic you see black leggings. The weight of a cloak lies heavily on your shoulders./p  
p data-p-id="4e6b92a727b5b0f64f49fdf29d667cb9"You frown. emWhy did I believe that I was dreaming? I came here of my own free will, didn't I? /emBrushing that thought out of your mind, you reach out to a night lily and pull it down to your nose to inhale the scent, a calm peaceful feeling settling over you. You smile into the One thing that must be said about his majesty is that he has a beautiful garden./em/p  
p data-p-id="8abbee32f796bde021c48ebb78af616a""(Y/ N)." You jump slightly at the quiet voice that has interrupted the silence. He was waiting for you, and you hadn't even noticed. Turning around, you drop a small courtesy before looking into his deep scarlet eyes, afraid, expectant. emWorried/em./p  
p data-p-id="a585a2a71d0b10b8ce9e4ef6764065ed""My Lord," you reply, and glance away from his face, cheeks becoming hot. Even though you're meant to be an honoured guest as the daughter of the High King of a foreign country, you feel out of place here, with your pale skin and your strange ways, as if everybody is staring at you and making snide comments behind your back. You were chosen to become a bride, so you must fulfilling your role to the best of your ability. But every time the pharoah Atem approaches you, you become a tense and awkward mess./p  
p data-p-id="67090487f812a1c521b2d6ead67afdfa"emPlease mother, don't let him find out tonight./em Atem steps closer to you. You can feel his eyes on you, calculating your mood, your emotions. His gentle breathing can barely be heard over the uneasy pounding of your heart. emIf he finds out tonight.../em/p  
p data-p-id="96866c2e5f5ef888b7c69818c7cd2f58""The moon is beautiful this evening," you murmur, staring up at it. The gentle creamy light it gives off reflects from the weapons of the guards patrolling the not-too-distant walls. Even here, you are not left alone. It pangs in your heart at the difference between this strange country without rain and your I miss the rain./em/p  
p data-p-id="964a10766526df5e55631b3c41bdd2a8""And yet yours is a beauty that rivals it." You stiffen but do not turn around to look at 's so close that you can feel the heat from his skin. His hand brushes yours, takes it in his. "Why are you sad?"/p  
p data-p-id="e69395fdd0aa6e8d765ef21f3e533987"Pull your hand away from him and turn your back. "You should not have sought me out tonight."/p  
p data-p-id="43bd0a2fb6e4cffb4153cb7267d1e93f""I couldn't bear the thought of being without you. Not tonight."/p  
p data-p-id="535de88bac8ff5ca50e90c1f51dc0cf4"You laugh bitterly, the tears stinging in your eyes. emTonight is the worst time to say that. /em"I'm a disappointment to my kin and a threat to any who come near me. Why couldn't you see that from the moment I arrived here, there has been talk of uprising behind your back? For choosing me, a foreigner over any in your court." Your shoulders start to shake with the effort of holding back the sob climbing up from your heart. "And yet you say that you want to be with me tonight. Why, pharoah?" The tears roll down your cheeks in anguish. "Why?"/p  
p data-p-id="4d2c83d4b5171bda887a89f54e8efa17"His voice is gentle. "You're not a disappointment to me."/p  
p data-p-id="cdfb941fa6b568c50d7f32fbcea72b13"Yours is low, warning. "Stay back." The pain in your heart is growing. You can feel your spirit aching to fly, to change. "I don't want you to be hurt -"/p  
p data-p-id="3cce05c93475d33030d5d6815335e484"Atem's sudden kiss stops you in your tracks. His mouth is warm, cajoling, his body hard against your soft skin. Hands hold your face, keeping your lips to his. He's experienced. You're not./p  
p data-p-id="5f4dfdb644bcac2c7206b9e4b3a8c12d"You cry into his mouth, clutching him for support. He moves onto your cheeks and drinks your tears before pulling away and pleading with his eyes, begging you to understand his love. It's all you can do not to pull away with the shock. emHe - he's not looking! It's as though he hasn't even noticed! -/em/p  
p data-p-id="ee742fc749a16afc11a17c3a68471493"- Hasn't noticed your silvery glow, or the translucent spiritual wings on your back that illuminate the garden with a pale ghostly light. The distant yells of the guards float on the scented breeze. They'll know by now why you were sent to Egypt, what you are. emWhat I must become./em/p  
p data-p-id="e248bd4f41d040453ea91b3a88ebf187""You were beautiful, even before tonight." Atem strokes your cheek and kisses you again on your lips, your cheek, your forehead. "Body and soul, you were beautiful before this, Ra you were, and from the moment that I saw you I knew that you were fit to be my queen... my queen. May I be forgiven for saying this," quickly taking your hands in his, and brushing his kisses over the knuckles - "but the only disappointments are your parents for giving away such a gift as you. So don't you dare think that you disappoint anyone, (Y/ N)."/p  
p data-p-id="9708f2ea243cc4213554a6aebdaee2b4""Atem..." You breathe, awed, relived, hopeful. He smiles and pecks you on the lips again, once, twice, three times./p  
p data-p-id="f55d1894e0d0cadc9cd22315753b0085""I sought you out tonight because I want to be with you tonight, and every night to come, every day and every hour that we have before Osiris takes us. I love you, (Y/ N), love you more than the earth, than the sun, than the beautiful moon -" he pulls you close and you let him, leaning up to share your love with his, his fingers bunching in your hair, pulling your head back, his hand brushing over your thigh -/p  
p data-p-id="d0d0c54697ad88d9679b493ba73f354e"You scream and fall forward, the arrow lodged between your shoulders, golden blood spilling onto the ground straight from where it pierced your heart. You can't see through the grey clouds of your fading vision, but his arms are strong as he holds you, calling for Isis, calling for anyone to save you. "At-tem -"/p  
p data-p-id="5bc8d44e86dc02739b544d757654b63d""Shh, habibi, save your strength." He's almost hysterical with the thought of losing you. "Isis will be here soon, she'll be able to save you -"/p  
p data-p-id="2bc254e9582f349e90b0a0790ec2bfcb""T-take my... " gasping, you grope feebly for your most precious item that's hanging around your neck. "Pendant... was my mother's ch- charm..." he watches you, and does as he's told. All strength leaves you with the removal of the piece of your soul, trapped in the Crystal. It flutters about inside. Sucking in another painful breath, you feel your eyes closing as you whisper, "go n-éirí an t-ádh leat... Atem!"/p  
p data-p-id="2903f84bab8ff1855b3c66bd31cdb33c"Welcoming numbness spreads over your body. You smile slightly, feeling your soul stretch up, back towards home. emMama.../em/p  
p data-p-id="afa017db037d7104c5fd53c3528a31b0""(Y/ N)!" Atem calls, his voice already fading. "(Y/ N)!"/p  
p data-p-id="64ff423cb955154c54bcd015921907f0"- "Ah!"/p  
p data-p-id="72b32908a4940892ed22f841c52e0849"You jerk upright in the bed, gasping for air while hot tears pour down your cheeks. Drawing your knees up to your chest, you hold them with your arms and place your head on them, heartbeat slowing, slowing, until you can breathe without So Yami was right. It wasn't just a dream. /emShakily, you reach back to where you felt the arrow pierce your flesh and shiver. emNo dream could be that real.../em/p  
p data-p-id="48c775e0e3e72d54e39893ec45b41d66"em...where the hell am I?/em/p  
p data-p-id="30a3ecce881a57058c48c7fd43313bd2"Sunlight streams in from open curtains. The bed is a double bed, and it's against the middle of the wall, the headboard resting against it. A locker is at either side of it, with lamps and an alarm clock. It's five to nine./p  
p data-p-id="cde255f9c37fe81c57179910f47cae2c"Opposite you is a wooden wardrobe. Beside that, the door. You can hear voices from outside. It sounds like... emRyou... and Bakura/em.../p  
p data-p-id="06c9585a888aab236b7cb708d575ee50"Pushing yourself off the bed and padding towards the door barefoot, you wait for a moment for dizziness to pass before opening the door - and stepping into the middle of a heated agreement between a solid Ryou and a solid Bakura./p  
p data-p-id="c44a75c4702f503843bd3586370466aa""-Can stay there until she wakes up," Ryou argued, his sweet face set./p  
p data-p-id="0ec7621c3b59886327be4790460c5576""And what if she never wakes up, you fool? People are going to start asking questions that you won t be able to answer, and they will expect answers," Bakura snarls. He looks so vicious, so... animalistic. Stepping up right into Ryou's face, he hisses, "you can't keep an angel in your bed forever... and especially not your bed."/p  
p data-p-id="be14520276920203c36e14b844cfbf37""I don't care what she is! She needs help!" Ryou's eyes narrow. "And what do you mean, "especially not my bed"? She's my girlfriend!"/p  
p data-p-id="bd0a6371a0d767264b6bf4dc20233c5f""That's what emyou/em think." Bakura smirks evilly. Ryou's eyes widen, shocked, hurt./p  
p data-p-id="68476c7014c367ea4f93460f31207929""She wouldn't. She didn't -!"/p  
p data-p-id="2c5d90046c6821bbc21e61baf0875fdd""She emdid/em," he crows, enjoying watching his former host's face crumple. His face goes back into a snarl again. "She knows that I love her, and you love her. You think I don't care about her? I care. And its because I care that I think something had to be done. If she doesn't wake up, she'll die. You understand? She - could - die!" Every gap is a jab at Ryou's chest. Yami Bakura growls and turns on his heel towards the bedroom, doing a double take at the sight of you in the doorway and appearing by your side. "(Y/ N)!" But then he notices that you're glaring and tapping your foot. "Are you -"/p  
p data-p-id="3b0093790d260a19c17cc4e042b47896""I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much," you snap, before reaching up and slapping Bakura hard, twice, across the face. "emThis/em is for what you were doing to Ryou and emthis/em is for making him feel like dirt, you embastard/em!"/p  
p data-p-id="c285c27307b7624ad1982de7512d5eee"He stares at you before slowly reaching up and touching the red marks on his cheek. You ignore him, instead choosing to stumble over to a shocked Ryou and hug him, hard. "Don't listen to anything he tries to say to get you riled up, Ryou. He's just trying to make you feel bad because he's jealous."/p  
p data-p-id="df3efd419bd5b05b5f2e64a4410a9a01"Bakura growls from behind you and you feel Ryou tense up again. "She belongs with me."/p  
p data-p-id="69f32e94a4645fceadea2218bdae0488"Ryou's arms tighten around you posessively. "She's my girlfriend, Bakura," he states. Bakura snorts./p  
p data-p-id="e83d1ea7d98343634d5d12aff0a5c928""That's not what she was saying last night."/p  
p data-p-id="77b9d670c7419202df2b2bc5aec302a8"emOh, sweet Lord above./em Angrily, you push away from Ryou and turn to confront the Yami. "Actually, yes I was! So much so that I kicked you in the balls for it! Or have you forgotten that little detail?"/p  
p data-p-id="288823607342622f87bac75d417f12f5"He smirks. "Seems like you've forgotten what a good time you were having last night."em Stop being so stubborn, (Y/N)! You know that you belong with me!/em/p  
p data-p-id="a16e657922479310c4d5498cf7014cdd"Her hand reaches up to her neck and she looks away from him, biting her lip. Then she speaks, and her voice trembles. "Because I saw that you had a heart, even though nobody would believe it. Even though you joked that you were borrowing Ryou's." Ryou looks from her to Bakura, face pained. But still she keeps going, and her voice turns hard. "I know that you both love me, and want to be with me. But unless you -" she points at Bakura, and he frowns "-can get along with him -" pointing at Ryou, who avoids her eyes "-I won't accept you, Bakura. Ryou was here first, and I love him. You need to prove that you have a heart to emhim/em before you can attempt to share mine."/p  
p data-p-id="0152bc4a15c692670fd3ce6909cdcdd8"emImpossible/em, Bakura wanted to say, disgust welling up inside of him as he glared at his pathetic former host, whose head was bowed with shame... until he looks up directly into the thief's eyes. That look says all./p  
p data-p-id="7b473384f7886af9427cd0432aad7a94"You stay for a moment more, glancing between the two of them, before your stomach rumbles. You jump at the sound, and so do they, Ryou covering his hand with his mouth. "Oh, you haven't had breakfast yet!"/p  
p data-p-id="4b0ed1fa9b3ede7270db416cd93d9296"You shake your head, pressing a hand to your irritable stomach. Bakura steps forward, hesitating before touching your shoulder. "We had better get you fed then, hadn't we?"br /Even though you don't know it, over your head, glances are exchanged, and a rueful pact is made./p  
p data-p-id="102c3439d577d1d0d552b03fcae27c5e"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="d7e2c87ef7a9e8b2d66435c865af2a82"They sit, watching you eat from the other side of the table. You had no idea how hungry you were, but now after eating a massive bowl of cereal, you feel a bit more awake... and a lot more alert. Alert enough to tell that things had calmed down a bit./p  
p data-p-id="cc470e3206535519bbe954528cc39085""You are aware of what happened last night, aren't you?" Bakura breaks the silence, and you look up, surprised./p  
p data-p-id="2dfb3d087aabd46acd82d0df39b96630""What do you mean? It's obvious from the evidence in front of my eyes that I must have been the missing part of the ritual, and I already knew what I was, so..."/p  
p data-p-id="610bed501f23b32191fd79c1dae5aa47""You knew?" Ryou asks, shocked. He didn't know... I kept it a secret from him./p  
p data-p-id="30c2d497ab08764ce8f04fe0dedde3bd"You sigh and look down at your empty bowl, pushing your spoon around it. Avoiding their eyes. "Mam used to tell me stories of my family... I didn't know that they were real until I was twelve. The first half-moon after my birthday, I was sitting outside and - well," shooting them a smile, "you can probably guess what happened." emMam was terrified. /em"I was lucky that I wasn't seen. Since then, it's just.. happened. Sometimes I know when I'm going to change." You place the spoon down, troubled, and clasp your hands in your lap. "Other times... not so much."/p  
p data-p-id="5cd28c4147eade9e4deaf7053cb7ed31"emLike last night./em/p  
p data-p-id="7e4414241cf8946cc61914046b1b66f4""I was referring to the fact that you were... ah, very communicative in your sleep." Bakura's voice seems strange, almost as if he's trying to hold something back. "You repeated something, several times -"/p  
p data-p-id="e48adc7da97dbd2cf5be8a2ec5655a2f""Atem," Ryou sighs sadly, and you look up again to see that his eyes are haunted, ghostlike, pain filled. Slumping in your chair, you rub your temples to try to erase the oncoming headache before you speak./p  
p data-p-id="650786d45924cabab777d0e461215929""Last night... after I fainted... I had a strange sort of dream. Only it wasn't a dream, Ryou, Bakura, it was so real and I couldn't remember this life... couldn't remember you." You look up at the both of them as you smile slightly. "Well, I guess I wouldn't have of it was in the past... but I was in a garden, and the moon was just coming up, and pharoah was there and then..." You shrug, and shiver, reaching back to where the arrow had pierced you. "I was shot, and I died. And it hurt. A lot. But he loved me. I was sent to Egypt to be his wife, that's what I could gather... and I loved him back... in the past."/p  
p data-p-id="c2a445fff4f63ccc386047c4be8df230"They're silent, simply looking at you. But then Ryou slowly stands up and moves around the table, leaning in to kiss you briefly on the lips, taking your hand in his. "The past is the past, (Y/ N)," he murmurs softly. His beautiful chocolate eyes are full of love, and affectionately you reach up and cup his cheek./p  
p data-p-id="7415f97f5bb08647f2b6c37c82cb7b71""I'm not going with him. I'm staying with you." Bakura's face when you glance at it is full of something you can't make out. Sorrow, maybe, or anger. "Both of you." And you hold out your hand to the thief. Very slowly, he too gets up, and he takes it and presses his mouth to it./p  
p data-p-id="7bd08792b6c99593fdd82dd5a5f2e0ec""Angelic," he mutters, before giving a short chuckle. "Oh, if only Ushio had known what he had said last night..." he looks slyly at you from under lidded eyes. "You still need to go back to your friend below us, you know."/p  
p data-p-id="7d6935dc2743ef81103bbbab58431bac"You gasp and take your hands away from them to cover your mouth. emSionnach! I completely forgot about Sionnach! /em"Oh god."/p  
p data-p-id="863bac581032ac967b86773d30aa546f""It's alright," Ryou reassures you, kissing your cheek. "I can go down there now and explain to her."/p  
p data-p-id="c4a78ecebacb859c63304fdc0931dc76""Are you sure? She could bite your head off."/p  
p data-p-id="d4fae773fb78863ed92cdce348df7225"Ryou nods and smiles at you, already moving towards the door. "She trusts me, I'll be fine," he calls back, throwing a doubtful glance at Bakura on the way out. Then the door clicks shut and he's gone... leaving you alone with the thief king./p  
p data-p-id="3d94f8ea107571146422a6aedcc061f2"A tense silence fills the air. From the corner of your eye, you can see Bakura staring at you, searching your face. You can feel it becoming red, heating up until you just can't take it anymore./p  
p data-p-id="f35d3f7e4b3c201cf63a08aa43c524fc"You turn your head to face him and give him a piece of your mind - when he leans in, deftly capturing your mouth with his own, yanking you across the table to him. "Mmph-" emnot again!/em/p  
p data-p-id="06979f36dd5c6cd4f5a520aa1a7eebb3"He ignores your struggles, choosing at that moment to bite down on your lower lip, demanding to be let in. But you don't let him, pursing your lips shut and struggling even harder. The chair you were sitting on clatters to the ground as your feet hit it, but he still won't let you go, even when he finally pulls his face away and glowers at you. "Mine," he whispers, his eyes deep pools of vengeance. "And I can't believe that I have to share you. Much less with emhim/em."/p  
p data-p-id="401061c062ebc557a0c4afb3331a560b""Be grateful I'm even letting you after what you did," you growl, pushing him away from you and slipping off the table. "And if you don't get along with him then you'll get nothing more from me, thief."/p  
p data-p-id="0f7a60bcda207203df691f853977e515"A sudden smirk winds its way across his handsome face. "Don't you worry, love," he croons, slipping around from the other side of the table, towards you. "That part is all taken care of..."/p  
p data-p-id="df8fca69f2560180a4721e8002fcbdbe""Why is it that I don't believe you?" You ask, keeping your eyes fixed on the distance between you and taking a few steps back. emRyou please hurry up, or he'll try out some experimentation in your place... /em/p  
p data-p-id="2d8996215862a5f0d2a20757cdcfede6"Bakura chuckles and dives forward to grab your hand, pulling you into his hard, muscular frame and wrapping his arms around you. He lowers his mouth so that it's level with your ear. "Maybe it's because you need to start trusting me more."/p  
p data-p-id="e9ba6d0b31aa673a8023f31c3a11a6f5"Your heart pounding, you gasp out, "I don't think that I trust you at all at the moment!" emDon't give in, (Y/ N)! Stay strong... don't... can't give in.../em/p  
p data-p-id="cbb5b6b4d22174b2e8784ca80757afa0"emBut Shit, it's so hard not to.../em/p  
p data-p-id="d179647e333d3ab3e381e1aa8aef4b7f"His terrible hands start to slide their way over your body, and you bite your lip to hold back the groan. "I think that you want to, sweetheart."/p  
p data-p-id="5b71223611125d2237862e4c869b35cb"Somehow you manage to wriggle out of his grip and run to the other side of the room, crouching slightly, defensive. He smirks again and starts to slink towards you... until you point at him with the Finger of God. "Stay! There!"/p  
p data-p-id="26ff0681210a6ae1d523796d86803364"He chuckles, and continues on his way. Or he would have done, had uncertainty not clouded his usually confident nature. He frowns, and tries again, and again is stopped. emThis has never happened to me when I went for her before... /emthen he notices that her arm is waving wildly up and down with the offending digit still attached./p  
p data-p-id="a20f31c47962e9a9d6b5d7a9af6d487f""You. Stay. There. Move. And. You. Die!" Her face is so comical that he can't help but back away, chuckling. But just as he does, he hears Ryou calling out her name, and the sound of her friend... what was her name again? - also calling out. She dashes out, leaving him alone in the kitchen./p  
p data-p-id="a0af1fe27fac241713625d8495eee373"Bakura smirks. emI'll get you one day, sweetheart./em/p  
p data-p-id="760d518aed302230eae3c7a65c79b20c"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="06963d7b2a8eaeffb08c15309c85484b"It's around lunchtime now, and you're waiting in a shopping centre with Ryou for the rest of the gang to arrive, after promising them that you'd tell them what was going on over food. Sionnach, true to her nature, had raged at you for ten minutes before finally calming down and hugging you, tightly, making you hiss slightly with pain as she pressed on your injury. "Never scare me like that again, ya eejit," she had mumbled, and you could hear the fear in her voice./p  
p data-p-id="05c2327c2f017b6d2b7a9c72fc0b24c4"As well as discussing the slightly... ahem, emunusual/em events that occurred, you were going to be introduced to yet another person, Duke Devlin. From what Tea had already muttered about him, you knew that he was a play boy and had multiple legions of fan girls all around the school. You just hoped that he wouldn't try going after you. Bakura would kill him in an instant if he did that./p  
p data-p-id="e07820a6c7a5a03d27f1059914a7bafe"emOh yeah... Bakura/em. Frowning at that thought, you wonder about what he's I did tell him that he needed to enrol for school... I just hope that he hasn't happened to somebody. They've been trying to stick really close to me all day, too, like they're watching each other. Hmm./em/p  
p data-p-id="825458d808bf91a5daaa86b86afffe35"You pick up a book from a stack in the bookstore that you had found hidden among the chains of fashion shops and restaurants, flicking idly through the pages in search of amusement, but secretly glancing from the corner of your eye at Ryou. He has a book open on a single page in his hands, but he's staring at it blankly. A leaden feeling settles in your stomach./p  
p data-p-id="6f06a9dc350a1027b385f296447330dd"emRyou... I'm sorry about what I've made you go through. /emReaching out to him, you touch his shoulder lightly. He jerks out of his thoughts and turns to look at you, his gorgeous, soft chocolate orbs questioning. You reach out and cup his cheek, feeling the smoothness and warmth of his skin and the strange tickly feeling of his hair falling over your hand. "Ryou, what's wrong? You're not yourself.."/p  
p data-p-id="798091973f19a240110f3430306fb76b"He sighs and reaches up to place his hand over hers on his cheek, keeping the warmth there. His eyes soften, taking in her scuffed trainers, faded jeans and green t-shirt, and he can't help but give a small smile. He hair is tied up and out of her face except for a few cute strands that have managed to escape. He wants to touch one to see whether it's as soft as it looks. "Nothing's wrong, (Y/ N), I'm fine," he assures her, but he can tell that she doesn't believe him./p  
p data-p-id="276494831a6799efb5e1ec75215fce0b"emShe knows me too well... /ememaagh/emem, she's giving me that look! She knows that I can't resist that look!/em Ryou's thoughts run in circles, and guiltily he bites his lip and twines his fingers into hers on his cheek. "It's just..." closes his eyes to gather his thoughts. Opens them again, looking at he pleadingly. "I'm worried. The sharing with Bakura... sharing is fine, but (Y/N), he still hates the pharoah. Are you sure that everything will be alright when we meet the others?"/p  
p data-p-id="1c3d5aff688560229be41e550b6f141b""I'm sure," she says, sounding so confident that he almost believes her. "But whatever happens... if it doesn't work, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I would choose you and Bakura over the pharoah any day." Smiling, she brushes his cheek, leaving is skin tingling./p  
p data-p-id="042d753a22f055acb78bb16e0740ad2c"He leans in and pulls her close, pressing her lips to his and closing his eyes as she kisses back. If only I could do this with her all the time. "Things could turn very nasty very quickly between them, especially if it's about you," he whispers, pulling away from her sweet, soft mouth./p  
p data-p-id="9d36d85a1910591192da53d4127bcd14""I meant what I said yesterday, Ryou, I'm staying with you and Bakura because of what's in here" she taps his chest "which is something that nobody else has, and that's my heart. I gave it to you, remember? When we started dating. You promised to keep it safe for me. So did Bakura through you." She smiles at him again, and pecks him on the lips, leaning into his arms./p  
p data-p-id="a08cb41fd1755a9407cbbf18af60d478"emRyou smells like lilac... and cotton/em... You breathe in the reassuring scents, happy in his arms, until he pulls away and takes your hand./p  
p data-p-id="4d7bd9c35f09a09aaddf27fd8c5decbc""Come on, I think I see the others waiting."/p  
p data-p-id="8301184b69bfa4a90db49df7934498d5"You snort as you walk. "I think I see Bakura. He doesn't look to pleased, either."/p  
p data-p-id="ec295be133569c9f3386490d3cbd4306""Enrolment is a bastard," Ryou replies emphatically, shaking his head. "You need so many references and stuff that its better to just let the parents deal with it, to be honest."/p  
p data-p-id="5233468533a7ba7fe37116bdf02e1dbf"Wide-eyed, you stare up at him, a grin spreading across your face. "No emway/em! Ryou, you can curse?"/p  
p data-p-id="e6dbcaef3da7500afd86656d877b7df3"He starts to blush like crazy and ducks his head. "I-it's just my opinion, that's all," he mumbles. You grin again, and wave at Bakura, who has now spotted you and is stalking over in your direction. Looking very handsome as well, in a grey t-shirt and blue jeans./p  
p data-p-id="a6b8b20ec2e340cfe9f17a4779fecbb0""How was enrolment?" You call out, when he's close enough. He glares at you and grunts./p  
p data-p-id="60a0517b5672cfefd4d8c6ec18a4a781""An absolute bastard. They wanted so many references and things that for once I wished that I had parents to do it for me." He then leans in, looking dubiously at you. "What's so funny?"/p  
p data-p-id="5be808ee32cc2e4a6e1c66a1eeddd8bd"You can't stop laughing enough to tell him. He seems to know anyway, and smirks. "It's just a pity that they placed me in your class."/p  
p data-p-id="55e836c9a022b410f4565b4fc3275c95""W-what?" You start to walk again, skipping ahead of them to turn around backwards and look up at them properly. "You do know that Yami's in that class too, right?"/p  
p data-p-id="df80f2b24fadfb5291f6c7e62a814b03"His face hardens. He looks like he's sucking a lemon. "Theem pharoah /emwill be safe from me as long as he stays away from you," he growls, waving a hand in disgust at you and Ryou. "I won't stab him, I'm not that bloody uncivilized -" he stops and frowns at Ryou, who is smiling behind his hand. "What is it now?"/p  
p data-p-id="e4e272d0bb3df1b40c6a5a2d130348b6""Three thousand years ago and you were that uncivilized, Bakura." By this time, you're heading into the eatery./p  
p data-p-id="226dd298c104a2f1ce2cbe0745d226a6""Three thousand years ago, that emwas/em civilized." He glances up and his scowl deepens. "Oh, look." He says sarcastically. "They're all waiting for us. How emnice/em."/p  
p data-p-id="e60ba2672bc4b143c7869f6c83c47748"Tea, Joey, Tristan, Marik, Sionnach, Yugi, Yami and someone who must be Duke are all sitting at a long rectangular table reading menus. There are two empty seats left side by side, so you grabs spare one from another table and plonk it down between Tea and the stranger, who introduces himself with a dazzling smile. "Hi. You must be the famous (Y/ N)." He extends a hand which you shake, making him wince at your grip for a second before returning to his dazzle factor. "I'm Duke Devlin. You can call me Duke."/p  
p data-p-id="fb0977bd0582f54562e0024b51b9a78e""I'd say don't pay him any notice, bubbles. I mean, you have not one but two handsome men already," Sionnach comments wryly. Marik laughs, throwing his head back and revealing gorgeous white teeth. He grins at Bakura. "Long time no see, thief king."/p  
p data-p-id="2dd445a49bb33beab124186be51bfffd""Marik Ishtar, I see that you finally have a girl who enjoys your presence." Bakura's eyes gleam. "For once."/p  
p data-p-id="f1e5d12310dcb0b1352922ada533fcc0""No need to be rude, Bakura." He smirks at the white haired man. "Not when my little Fox is so hungry."/p  
p data-p-id="b4f569edc3fdebe10189e3e3adbcdf66""Who're you callin' yer anything, you blonde bastard?" Sio snarls. "Yeh haven't even fed me yet! I'm not your anything until I get FOOD!"/p  
p data-p-id="285d88770b7c3cd8374b58c8f7759ca6""Ooh, Sionnach Ní Duibhe is getting hangry! " you laugh, clapping your hands together excitedly. Everybody else laughs as she glares at you. Except Yami, who seems to be staring expectantly at you from across the table. You meet his eyes and hold his gaze. "I remember the garden, " you tell him quietly, and his eyes grow pained./p  
p data-p-id="9adf95abc71eb5b0fd581ce9ce457389""I remember it too." His voice is low, fleeting. "What have you decided?" Leaning forward, he looks hopefully at you. "Will you be my queen again, just as you were before?"/p  
p data-p-id="1580bc6f6a2991fe569e2fe8710c55a9"You glance towards Ryou and Bakura, everyone else except them listening to Joey and Tristan arguing again. "The past is the past, Yami," you whisper, returning your gaze to him. "And my choice is made. The past can't be the present. Not this time."/p  
p data-p-id="59499e65cc4ae3eb834b45bf0da9c652"He hides the anguish in his eyes very well, all things considered. "Very well. I..." he gulps and goes on, "understand your choice." Then, suddenly, he smiles. "Should you ever need someone to talk to, I am always willing to listen."/p  
p data-p-id="6c0222e9cd9351b7290c6b8eba930816""Thank you... pharoah." You smile back at him, and then turn your attention towards the argument./p  
p data-p-id="9a44cf67392f6d3499dd021a75e98f0c""- telling you Tristan, I could beat her if she dueled me!"/p  
p data-p-id="0a61291a4d9f64a33e3a133d92b50963""No you wouldn't, she'd wipe the floor with you!"/p  
p data-p-id="39c39500d42506ba810257ea7c760274""Oh yeah?"/p  
p data-p-id="4825a142078cb7157bfa137f22455078""Yeah!"/p  
p data-p-id="5e02a9a4c01cf39182a3a1ac06cfe848""Guys," Yugi interrupts. They both look up, and he inclines his head towards the waitress standing beside them to take their orders. Joey asks for a sandwich and some cola. Tristan asks for the same. Everyone else orders coffee or hot chocolate, except of course for... dum-dah! Yourself and Sionnach./p  
p data-p-id="d4872ff72b595ec462daa54403e7e44f""Tea! You both chorus. The waitress looks confused./p  
p data-p-id="6e7605f3f41809c2872708b42d0c0a91""What kind? She queries. "We have English breakfast, earl grey, or a selection of herbal teas -"/p  
p data-p-id="63de4efe5f124f249ae0e241a0ecb49d""Just bog standard, honest to god tea," you assure her. You glance towards the two Bakuras, who nod as well. "Em, could ye do it fer four people?"/p  
p data-p-id="4bc360c84d7e68462147a1e57f9a4e12""Sure!" And she walks into the kitchen. Sionnach snorts./p  
p data-p-id="33471c9ca74879d6d45160d2b9f4e2ff""Your accent is back, bubbles."/p  
p data-p-id="d1b744500ed033879218d7431dd9735e""No Shit, Sherlock," you retort, glaring at her. Duke looks bemused./p  
p data-p-id="37d98ce09bdde9f03ba65fab03985c37""Bubbles?" He asks./p  
p data-p-id="2dfb6c9ad8ec6dc42624602c8c69a68e"And so the whole story is told again, and as soon as the tea arrives, the events of last night. A series of gasps, grumbles and tongue clicking accompanies it. Finally, you finish, and all is silent until the arrival of food./p  
p data-p-id="8d931a1cc3d33acfe4e8e304ee900569"Duke glances at you slyly. "So, miss O'Hara, I know that you're Irish, but can you speak your language for us to prove it? I'm curious."/p  
p data-p-id="7a14297f7a03842fa432e4ea2fc4632c""She can speak it alright," Tea quips, glancing at you. "In fact, you haven't exactly told us what you said last week..."/p  
p data-p-id="27bdd4f47c80d1cab88e379c7c0c44f4""What happened last week?" Ryou sounds worried. Sighing, you reach for his hand./p  
p data-p-id="f7a67dd512efd2c6039caafcb1fa2c47""I missed you." He gives it a squeeze, and your heart melts. You turn back to Tea. ""Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat" means good luck." You shrug. "If you want more proof that I can speak my own language, Sio and me could have a conversation."/p  
p data-p-id="c3e609ebe0baddd0c3a29724d94d30ae""Please," Duke answers, leaning back on his chair./p  
p data-p-id="89ab2567dac90965ab50b88c99dffe55""Ceart go leor. Sio, conas atá tú?"(alright. Sio, how are you?)/p  
p data-p-id="3b2105b98f8ca0c514742a53758db82d""Go maith. Agus tú féin?"(fine. And yourself?)/p  
p data-p-id="1c728c6d2600ef20853067f42e0b7f6f""Go h-úfásach."(awful.) You scowl at your plate and poke it with your fork. "Níl a on práta ar mo phláta." (There's no potato on my plate.)/p  
p data-p-id="98eca599fb5360439c3a397671381ac5""Prátaí, mo ghrá thú," (potatoes, I love you) Sio sighs, her eyes refocusing slightly. She glowers at her own plate. "Níl aon prátaí agam, phleóid air!" (I haven't got any, -translation unavailable)/p  
p data-p-id="b9baa6ad103755997509e87f913dd1e8""Oh, Sionnach," you interrupt, pointing your fork at her. A smile hovers around your lips as you take in the bewilderment on everyone's faces. "Féach ar Marik." (Look at Marik.)/p  
p data-p-id="c54aa1c537ae46ae8f1022199c6051fe"Marik jumps at the sound of his name, his mouth closing with a snap./p  
p data-p-id="786df3eb89bc02e0f5589b3132029ece""Ahh Sio, chaill tú é!" (You missed it!)/p  
p data-p-id="33fe50667fca031822254a9999ff67be""Níl sé sin fíor, chonaic mé é, chonaic mé é!" (Thats not true, I saw it!) She laughs and points to her boyfriend. "Bhí iasc é." You snigger before returning to English and translating for everyone else./p  
p data-p-id="d43188ec6dd45cfc37800c2dfee2416c""What you heard there was a classic example of Irish banter." You point at Sio. "I asked how she was, she said she was fine and asked how I was. I told her terrible, there were no potatoes on my plate. She said she loved potatoes and that there weren't any on her plate either." You give the grinning girl a look. "Swearing at your dinner won't bring them back."/p  
p data-p-id="f3b5711205ac9575db80211afdc671a7""I know, I know," she snickers, before shoving another forceful of food into her mouth. "Continue."/p  
p data-p-id="fbdf4d40def8d1ef017a2e66473acd21""Anyway, I looked at Marik and told her to look too and that she almost lost the face he was making. However, she did see it and Marik, I'm sorry, but we called you a fish." You glance at Duke while Marik is dumbstruck. "Satified?"/p  
p data-p-id="e101fdd6c2c83b584c08ee44259c32d1""Definitely," Duke muses, his eye glinting. "That was amazing."/p  
p data-p-id="02ada4f1b8ce1d266db0c829e8b6bc77"You /br /br /p  
p data-p-id="a886bdea6ad4b31cde300ce28c5ef47c"AAAND because I'm a lazy sod I'm leaving it there for this chapter! This isn't a cliffy, so I hope you lot will all be satisfied *grumble grumble, complain complain* the conversation in Irish was partially taken from one I had with my sister, and the rest... well, I mean, fishtar. Come on./p 


	7. Chapter 6: Sionnach's Little Problem

p data-p-id="f520cada404c9a8a52d730751425dd7d"So, without further ado... forward to CHAPTER SIX! *bows and waves a handkerchieF* and please like comment and review!/p  
p data-p-id="810d7f2e0125e4aff1171d3ff05e2fb2"Later on that day and Bakura still hasn't even picked the tiniest of arguments with the pharoah! You grin to yourself, putting your head on Ryou's shoulder as the others keep chatting while you all walk around Domino. Probably ignoring him, knowing Bakura. "This is nice."/p  
p data-p-id="3af0da3f56bd12e290ebf1fbdd23e3d1""Yes, it's wonderful to just walk around on such a lovely day." Ryou is more cheerful now that you've rejected the pharoah to stay with them, and the fact that you're so close to him probably helps as well. "Especially in the company of friends."/p  
p data-p-id="5854be67b9ec7b29ab974ee101e5480c"From behind you. Bakura gives a snort. He hasn't really been that talkative today. "The day is lovely because (Y/ N)'s here," he growls, voice low. Turning back, you give him a cheeky grin and hold out your free hand./p  
p data-p-id="0961e89037f4ce584b403df9468760d3""Ahh, come on sourpuss. Join in the fun!" But all he does is make a emtch/em sound and look away, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. He glares at the surrounding people as if he wants to eradicate them from this universe. emPoor guy/em, you think, with mischief in your mind. However, he certainly looks up again when you call out to Yugi:/p  
p data-p-id="8ddf13b3757cb6136710ac0dac8e89bd""Hey Yugi, what's your deck like?" -/p  
p data-p-id="c351f7100fe3ddc93316a93dc39659d6"And he's furious. I am so going to pay for this./p  
p data-p-id="54c7f917389f7efe111c916500d575ee""Well," he says, laughing, "mine and Yami's is a spellcaster type deck mainly, with the dark magician and all, but we do have some secret trumps in there too! What about you?"/p  
p data-p-id="1fc0f6405696d2d2dcd9a38ccd9d8795""Well..." You pause, blushing. "I don't really have a lot of time to play Duel Monsters, but when I do, my deck is mainly a Dragon- type. I have a sort of balance between dragons and magicians, to be honest." Digging your hand into your pocket, you pull out a card. "This one is my favourite. Milla the Temporal Magician. She's only 1800, but..." You shrug and grin sheepishly. "Her effect is a good one, and she's the first one that I won a duel with, so you could say that she's special to me."/p  
p data-p-id="c7df2cbbb4f27c270259d780eb3c97fd""A good card," Yami nods, smiling at you. "The card that you bond with is often the card that you care for the most."/p  
p data-p-id="ff12b55903f9751b62de47917975bb19"You're about to reply when a shout interrupts your sentence. "Bubbles!" Sio yells. She has a gleam in her eye that means somebody will be going home crying. "Wheeler here thinks that I canae duel fer the life a me."/p  
p data-p-id="38419e0e189c81eea062075e638c47ad"emThe accent as well! /emYour eyes grow wide, and you clutch Ryou's arm more tightly, causing him to give a small grunt in /emem, somebody's going to die today/em!/p  
p data-p-id="859d7638ac4ef238ab52432d0c601ce6""So, are you going to rectify the situation?" You call back, glancing at Joey. He's already getting out his duel disc with a creepy grin on his face. Sionnach simply smiles and starts humming something under her breath, accepting the loan of Marik's disc./p  
p data-p-id="8a54570ddd03389192d4e24547ce1c36""Awright foxy!" Joey adjusts his duel disc on his arm and takes on a fighting stance while your best friend slides in her deck into the duel disc. "Get ready for my killer tactics!"/p  
p data-p-id="eb4cfffcd8e4502eebbd7137b224fd97"Sionnach simply smiles and continues listening to the beat./p  
p data-p-id="102c3439d577d1d0d552b03fcae27c5e"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="43ab74375c09bd071bd34e55349b7381"Knees hit the ground hard, followed by a pair of hands. "H - how!"/p  
p data-p-id="64affc0bb201beb048a09db549334a3a"Sionnach laughs and walks - no, she dances over to him, because no walk could ever be that full of movement - and holds out her hand. "That was a great duel! I like your style, Joey."/p  
p data-p-id="1861fdfc66296998061377a8dd298b91"Yami leans towards Yugi. "I can feel her duelist's spirit from here," he whispers. Yugi nods happily before frowning and squinting slightly./p  
p data-p-id="1583dbb71484b25df7d70989e97829b2""Yami, look at her back!"/p  
p data-p-id="6e4d372611cb701f88af6299fc8f20a4"Meanwhile, Joey's looking from the face of the laughing Sionnach to her foot that's tapping away, and the way she's swaying in time to the tapping, with a dumbfounded expression. She winks at him and pulls away, looking at her best friend leaning on Ryou's shoulder -emThey really do make a sweet couple, that bastard behind them better be careful with her or I'll fuck him up/em - before calling out, "shall I let them in on the secret bubbles?"/p  
p data-p-id="1409b497e47ba07d5e1ffe3658a62e28"She giggles. "Show them the dance that won the Céilí!"/p  
p data-p-id="adac900753de8f0ea2d121eafe837116"Handing her deck and the disc back to Marik, she gives him a little kiss on the cheek before looking around. "Anybody here know Spry Slides? No?" And she sets off into the steps of the dance, her shoes thudding on the tarmac. Sio closes her I've missed the dancing./em The beat, the company, the camaderie between the group as they danced... but poor (Y/ N) never joined in, her being too afraid after what happened last time. emPoor (Y/ N). If only she would try it.../em/p  
p data-p-id="2e4537725786e6b513e4055bf0d6bac5"The song in her head plays, and once more she's at home, practicing on her front lawn with her little sister and her parents watching and cheering, and she laughs, high on the energy needed for the dance./p  
p data-p-id="14738e3c9eb404112f0438838b23ea78"The dance finishes. She opens her eyes again and looks at (Y/ N), eyes sparkling, before tackling her in a hug. "See? It'd be fun if you just tried it ya potato!"/p  
p data-p-id="e28a4bc144a225d4e1be764361c34a51""Sionnach!" She screams, before they land on the tarmac. "Ow ow ow, watch the cuts, emwatch the cuts Cuddles get off now!"/em/p  
p data-p-id="a2abbae151a1b9ea955b00fc8c993be0""What cuts?" Everybody else asks, simultaneously. Getting up and pulling bubbles up with her (emeven with poor Ryou trying as well, I must have been flying into her to get her out of his arms, poor guy I should have warned him/em) , (Y/ N) gives her a sly look./p  
p data-p-id="6caf52d5f7c63b9cb2d90a2b8c93888a""You did get that match on tape didn't you?"/p  
p data-p-id="ab56d38e4a531dc1880d9e6e8b5f8c13"Sionnach snorts. "Of course I did, we won 8-27 to 5-11."/p  
p data-p-id="e9b6fbba646b1f62e2711342fb4b30b6""Good." Sionnach gives her an evil smirk, noticing Bakura glaring at her as well. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"/p  
p data-p-id="7cab1f968782ae87fb75be505029ffc9""Possibly." She flashes her a smile and turns to the rest of the group. "Right lads! To answer your question, we will be hosting his night and will be teaching you about the basics of hurling!"/p  
p data-p-id="85f88b806a3af42900fb85454ca3bd92""So you're all going to come to our apartment," Sio adds, grinning again. Everyone agrees, and she leaves (Y/ N) with her lads and goes over to Marik, who's watching her carefully./p  
p data-p-id="1359029d21a2f2a091d52e6fe97586e1""That was some dance that you performed, darling." She kisses his cheek./p  
p data-p-id="8f1f40e17be5f739d2eeb2c0ceabd3f4""I know." emI just hope that you know the steps to the hypothetical dance that we'll be performing this evening... the dance of /emstrongemtruth!/em/strong/p  
p data-p-id="760d518aed302230eae3c7a65c79b20c"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="0fe9b0ab02134d11379bc87773d69dcc""Jesus Christ, Sio, are you sure the you couldn't find the keys any slower?" You say jokingly. She throws a grimace over her shoulder./p  
p data-p-id="4df480b0b04c2c56e61a7c0a58f21247""Ah, go fuck yerself O'Hara, I'm looking, alright?" Sionnach turns back to the matter in hand, everyone else except Bakura shocked. He chuckles and says his first words in the group for the whole day:/p  
p data-p-id="22747160854e0d2fa96b94ccc11e73f2""And you think that my attitude towards her would be rough?"/p  
p data-p-id="92d76bfc0ac9297f3a57c38f42a649ee"Sionnach snorts and continues the search for the elusive pair of keys in her rucksack. Sighing, you lean your head on Bakura's arm, holding Ryou's hand. Duke looks over, seemingly concerned./p  
p data-p-id="baaf6fbb8b8aa653411f462d32adb31b""Are you feeling alright, sweetie?"/p  
p data-p-id="6d0990c61830727388297236336bcabb"Bakura emits a soft growl and pulls you closer to him posessively. Surprisingly though, it's Sio who answers. "Of course she is, you amadán, she's (Y/ N)."/p  
p data-p-id="0fb3104c417939ffd30c43d09be77a99""Oh, my heart," Duke groans, theatrically clutching one hand to his chest, closing his eyes and swaying slightly. "You're so horrible to me, and yet my blood burns when I hear your voice - "/p  
p data-p-id="37cdd69ae3cc4ac7f0b6f03be1210207""Aha!" Sionnach triumphantly holds up the offending items before unlocking the door and stepping inside. Right lads, come in. Make yourselves comfy on the sofa while I go and get the stuff..." and with that she darts into her room./p  
p data-p-id="bd2f5e7eec1711b3d348a0883b883007"She doesn't notice the glares of Marik burning holes in Duke's back. You do, though, when you're going into the kitchen to get everybody drinks./p  
p data-p-id="9bd4d29ae64958aaa5366e3609530a2e"Bakura follows you in and pulls you close from behind. His breath is hot on your exposed neck. "I'm expecting a reward for being nice to the others all day," he whispers, frustration and annoyance clear in his tone. "And for having to walk alongside the pharoah and his ridiculous assistants."/p  
p data-p-id="b868aede8b4d7bb8462b86a5a70cc184"It's ... nice to be in his arms, you must admit. Leaning into them, you tilt your head back to meet his hungry and deprived mouth, and greedily he takes what he needs to keep being nice. But then you pull away, and he huffs. "That's not good enough," he growls. His hands bunch in your t-shirt./p  
p data-p-id="4e87dedc75891b0fe2c3452a7b3772b3""I'm not giving you anything now except what I can, 'Kura," you reply. You lean forward again and place the glasses on a tray. "Pick up those two jugs, please, and carry them out?"/p  
p data-p-id="69bd21ab18e0b8c16c1fcf0f3f4b8962""And what do you mean by ' what you can'?" He tightens his grip on you, his tone and his manner getting rougher, angrier. You stop him before he can go into a full rant./p  
p data-p-id="f7316d8ea756ffe9635fb20033380ef8""This morning I was willing to kick you out of my life because you wouldn't be nice to Ryou. Now I'm willing to let you love me, and love you back, acushla, love you both back as much as possible. Isn't that good enough?"/p  
p data-p-id="14ddb4e7f353957d5e21ac3574f243f1"He's about to say something else, but Ryou sticks his head in the door. "Would you like some help, (Y/ N)?" He queries, shyly./p  
p data-p-id="893fc5f2be25ed4f37a29b63aa2fb558""Yes, please, Ryou," you sigh wearily. "With everything."/p  
p data-p-id="3d3648a8c04fe34c1865ddf245e48f5f""Hey, I've got the video, have you got the drinks?" Sionnach calls. Bakura steps away from you and lets you go, carrying in the glasses while Ryou gets the jugs./p  
p data-p-id="906acadf2a52bc0d1b70e587364a62c9""Right here. Right everybody, hurling is a game of thirty players, fifteen aside. They have sticks called hurls. The aim is to get the sliothar, the ball-" you glance at Marik, who winced with recollection -"into the goal or over the bar for a point. Goals beat points. Got it? Right, let's go!" And with that, you watch the game./p  
p data-p-id="dd48a3377a1d0f75c7bee38c6aa8de9c"Everybody stares in shock for a few minutes while you and Sio keep up a running commentary throughout the whole thing./p  
p data-p-id="3541dbc8cc0165c9a1535004dd7d627a""Sio, you were playing centre that day -"/p  
p data-p-id="d769565eb106745b216932c228522b81""You were playing back -"/p  
p data-p-id="7264c573b7e3a9602ad49df50ac2a006""Eibhlís was a forward - "/p  
p data-p-id="e114b7bb484393fbf773c48aee2da4dd""oh look, there you go, and - there! " there are several groans from around the room as the sight of you jumping up to catch the sliothar with your hurl becomes the sight of you being slammed into the groans and skidding for several metres./p  
p data-p-id="ce3569ef8b41513f514f495391b20bf7""Yep, and there goes Niamh to get the ball." Everyone just looks at you, incredulous. All except... Duke./p  
p data-p-id="5c2679877d8b55df299ce01be569a0a1"Duke is instead staring at Sionnach, with a sly look on his face. Then, just like that, he starts talking to her, flashing her that dazzling smile of his. "You look really good, wearing those clothes in the match."/p  
p data-p-id="4ccb96d82d8966a8f741306dbc7e6ac9""Standard uniform," she replies, before eying him up and down. "You don't look too bad yourself at the moment."/p  
p data-p-id="8b3e07be5c024ca93585ecd2eebd62d1""Why, did I just hear a compliment from one so pretty as you, Sionnach Ní Duibhe?" He laughs, and Marik's hands start to curl into fists. "I wouldn't mind hearing one again..."/p  
p data-p-id="1fcede61f6ac8988f75fb6d72ca106a0"emBack away from my girlfriend, you sly dice loving bastard./em/p  
p data-p-id="46517b4fc64dd8735f942d1867042f5c"But then his face contorted visibly as Sio giggles - emgiggles/em! -back, and Marik can take no more of it. He stands up, and with a voice as sweet as syrup, and pleasantly polite, he asks, "Sionnach, darling, may I have a word with you alone, please?"/p  
p data-p-id="1c8f3a3ca4ac1257f677bcdcffb9e648"Sionnach goes with him, and they leave the apartment. Worry gnaws at your stomach, looking at the thumbs up that Sionnach sends Duke behind her back. emWas this all some sort of plan? /emYou Did he really just flirt with her to get Marik to do that?/em/p  
p data-p-id="75983f0e5a752a3a61d0aa8f87ffdc71"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="7cb8522e4bb1310d7bba61f65dbd43f4"Marik takes her to a room he knows can't be used, and that nobody goes near. His mind boiling with anger, the sour taste of betrayal in his mouth, he curses in his thoughts and screams out for vengeance. emI trusted her, and she betrayed me... I'll teach her never to underestimate me again.../em/p  
p data-p-id="c6409cdeb4fbd4eabe9d1f8d04142a1f""In here," he orders. Sionnach gives him a weird look. It takes all of his energy not to shove her in there and demand an explanation. Instead, she walks in, and he locks the door behind them before turning to face her, leaning on the door./p  
p data-p-id="8f63488b8a4dea0aa5dd633c80efcb9c""Why are we here?" She questions, flicking her long, auburn hair over her shoulder. The first thing that made me notice her was her hair. She looks at him, a small smile on her lips./p  
p data-p-id="a4dd967eced1aa9385630a49b7c8aaa9"Until he speaks, his voice hard. "Explain yourself."/p  
p data-p-id="3d9b3586e1f48cde52a1a0e97ed4695e"She looks at him, confused, and that only makes him angrier. "About what?"/p  
p data-p-id="8410602537988ab1fe4bf1806ce23d78""You know what you did. Explain yourself!" He demands. When she still looks at him in that way, he stalks over to her and grabs her arm, hard. She winced a bit, but that's all. "You were flirting with that bastard! In front of my own eyes I saw it! And I heard it too! So explain yourself to me!"/p  
p data-p-id="44c60dbd3c43496276768c106ef0516a""I wanted to know the truth." Her hazel eyes are determined, slightly fearful. As they should be. Her hand reaches up to cup his face, but he slaps it away. A dark part of him is pleased to note the shock in her eyes./p  
p data-p-id="ec78e5a0dd5027ac3f0e281400e339c2""Don't touch me, you unfaithful - "/p  
p data-p-id="caa29627a0597100f95cc80576dbbe27"But then she grabs him and slams her mouth over his, twisting her fingers into his hair and yanking him down to her height, keeping them pressed together, no matter how hard he struggles. Until he accepts it and kisses her back even more ferociously, shoving her against a handy wall, gaining the upper hand. He's disgusted. Betrayed. Anguished. But she's kissing him as though she's desperate for redemption, with a single minded determination. He can't help but feel admiration either. Or lust./p  
p data-p-id="b6448b7ae3b1da6ee4a7d7fcd53a8d20"Below him, she lets go and pulls away, panting. "I wanted to know if you still loved me, you idiot!" She wheezed, trying to catch her breath. "Duke and I planned it out! We would pretend to flirt with each other, and by God you have no fucking clue how hard it is to fake a giggle." She grimaced at the thought before meeting his furious glower. "And you proved that you did... or at least that you were jealous." She tips her head to the side thoughtfully. A part of him wants to kiss her for it. "Em... Yep, that's around it. You can go back to raging at me now."/p  
p data-p-id="594dda6dad854fd8a376ea9863c46678""You..." he whispers, then stops, unable to come up with any suitable curses. I can't ... I can't let myself become hopeful... "You."/p  
p data-p-id="3522f95e6eda1987f5d58e20434ef23f"Is it just his imagination, or are there tears in her eyes? "Me," she agrees. "You've been cold towards me for a while now, Marik, and I wanted to find out why."/p  
p data-p-id="94ca168d6c16eba14f3212553bfe5744""Because I don't want -" he stops himself, remembering that he hasn't told her about Mariku yet. "Look, there are some things about me that -" emDamn it, that won't work either! /em "I just -"/p  
p data-p-id="05cbbc8a38983326a5640e727af6724a""Marik." God, he loves the way she says his name, the little lilt she places on the r, the flick of her tongue at the end... she strokes his cheek, brushing some hair behind his ear. "What are you trying to tell me?"/p  
p data-p-id="5061740ba6d5dde9d28637f90e29e74d""I'm trying to say that I'm not alone in my head." And as Sionnach stares up at him in surprise, his face becomes frightened, hunted. Marik just has time to say "I love you, I'm sorry -" before he goes stiff and his aura ... changes./p  
p data-p-id="27104c85c9599f6f8f6ea4ef7b27ab20""So, you're my other self's little precious," Mariku croons. Sionnach doesn't move, only stares a at him, narrowing her eyes./p  
p data-p-id="7eb73f6d3365f87463aa2ce862ac06e4"So Marik shares a body with a psychopath. His hair is sticking up, and he's taller. But what shakes her resolve the most are his eyes. They're a deeper shade, and they burn with madness. Her mouth speaks while her brain whirrs. "Who are you?"/p  
p data-p-id="3e7022347308462fbb632ba07fc80066""So he didn't tell my victim about me. How depressing." The man makes a face and slams her into the wall with a bone - jarring thud, keeping her feet off the ground. Even so, she's only just level with his chin. Grunting slightly at the impact, her planning all unravels with a gasp at the shock of his tongue at her neck. "Let's see how good you are before I kill you, hmm?"/p  
p data-p-id="a734e87bad5818cf1993ad33828b343c"With that, he grabs her chin and closes his mouth on hers./p  
p data-p-id="3f00e6c353c39328e88789449364c8be"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="9c56aba66ad0dc3c8699afab0077bd4f"emI can't help the feeling that something bad is happening to Sio.../em glancing nervously at the front door, images of all of the news items and crime dramas you've ever watched start swimming around in your head. emMarik wouldn't hurt her, would he? Would he kill her and dispose of the body somewhere? Would he leave her locked up so that I never saw her again? /em Fear makes a tight knot in your stomach, constricting your throat. emWhat if-/em/p  
p data-p-id="d6defeff9c3dd90e747badb468d6638a"Bakura coughs discreetly, disturbing your horrible imagery. You glance over at him. He's looking at you, and when he sees you looking back, he holds out an arm for you to sit beside himself and Ryou on the sofa./p  
p data-p-id="02dea619f08c152e3f0635ec8f72eaf6""You're worrying about her, aren't you?" Ryou twines his fingers in yours a and squeezes reassuringly. You nod./p  
p data-p-id="5a06af668553656a4ceb8a6c6bb0ef7d""I just don't know what could happen to her. She knows Marik, but I don't really... and I'm scared that he could do something to her."/p  
p data-p-id="4f3f7ee06d1bb008e4b7810dc2d28996"Bakura pulls you into his side, wrapping his arm around your waist, wryly kissing your cheek. "Best to just let them get it out of their system." He, too, glances at the door, and gig grip tightens slightly. "Believe me, sweetheart, I know."/p  
p data-p-id="eab2fd706e39fd2faa9f0a5024d57cec""Listen to him, he knows what he's talking about," Ryou advises, his warm eyes reassuring./p  
p data-p-id="a3ea3b2a963ef6473753123715f3b9dc"You glance from one to the other, making up your mind and sighing as you do so. "Fine." Standing up, You turn the tv onto a duel and ask, brightly, "so! Who wants something to eat?"/p  
p data-p-id="d8e48a7fc6dd6e7752318c72997eed10"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="1e7ae0e37ccdc2d044390ccf89030381"Mariku's hands grip Sionnach's arms tightly, digging into her flesh. He pins her in place with his body, smirking to himself as he runs his tongue over her lips, licking up her almost inaudible groan. But when she starts to laugh, he grows angry./p  
p data-p-id="12c7b1b5ec6255ce4c497ca844384899""What's so funny?" He hisses, glaring at her. emHow dare she laugh at me!/em/p  
p data-p-id="c81007de4bd0313bcf72523f3b3791ed"Sionnach snorts and grins at him. "How do you know that I'm your victim and it isn't the other way round, sweet thing?" She teases him. This infuriates him even more, and to show his displeasure he digs his nails in until she bleeds./p  
p data-p-id="e906bc35ee365e5c9804f7735d89ce9a""Who's got you held up here?" He growls. He's confused. Normally his victims would be screaming by now, begging him to stop, tears running down their pathetic faces. But she, she's different, treating it like some sort of absurd normality!/p  
p data-p-id="8efe7d55fe1da5093c11629eced61b9d"He has to admit, it intrigues him./p  
p data-p-id="72688ef99bc0618ee12b4bbd43e656a3""Admit it, darling, you came to me." Her expression is sly, almost sultry. She cocks her head to one side, taking in his expression. "It's almost as if you wanted to meet me." Her tone, her accent, the way that she's eyeing him, holy Ra it makes him want to slap her and fuck her all at once - emno/em!/p  
p data-p-id="7a815b5774f3e8d2ec9f841485d03d14"Mariku grits his teeth, his puny other self trying to break back into his body, trying to save her. He notes Marik's emotions with satisfaction - rage, helplessness, anger, anguish, worry, care - before shoving him to the back of his mind again./p  
p data-p-id="a6e4e19a8ae1ba9ea63d8a26f9b0b642""Looks like you're having trouble in that head of yours, psycho." She raises her voice slightly. "Marik, I'm going to be fine. He won't hurt me, I promise."/p  
p data-p-id="b4693ebe3d6121d1fecac7bcef20d739"So Mariku slaps her, and she falls to the floor as he lets go of her arm to do so. "Did I give you permission to speak!?"/p  
p data-p-id="7077cdb3b3a6741140704b2ab086b041"But she laughs again, pushing herself up, her eyes full of a fire. "You just don't get it, do you?" She stands up fully, facing him. "You think that I'm a threat, don't you? Well maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. But I know something you don't know, Mariku." Again with that little smile on her face! emGrr/emem, why is she smiling?!/em "You can't kill me. You're not going to kill me."/p  
p data-p-id="8dd354e6f213c206455808dcec37a026""And how would you know that?" He purrs, his confidence returning. emCocky bitch. /em/p  
p data-p-id="814a00d0264dae46c2f802c0675d5990"Her next sentence throws him off. She leans into his face, looking into his eyes. "Because you're interested. "/p  
p data-p-id="fed1f3a56a486816a89ee522870d6378"Sionnach has to admit, the way he's been looking at her scares her like hell, as though she's some tasty morsel or a pet that's just done a trick. But she knows she's hit home with her remark when his face freezes for a second and his eyes widen. That moment is all she needs./p  
p data-p-id="0255f3b1b7003d3db1cb444e17290044"Or so she thinks. She hadn't counted on the psycho kissing her./p  
p data-p-id="3869b15206392daeb86ccd5a8fd5a2c0"It's worse than before. This time, he seems desperate, and that makes him rougher, ripping at her scalp with his fingers, raking them through her hair, forcing her mouth open when she cries out and shoving his tongue in to greedily claim her as his, growling with anticipation./p  
p data-p-id="936eba82ffcc7225635d81317ec965ff"She hadn't expected that, either./p  
p data-p-id="cd26b0586dee6ad9e143663ecf8e1bd6"Everything inside her is panicking like mad, screaming for help, screaming to get her Marik back, screaming to run. Except her heart, and everyone knows that the heart controls the blood /Right now it's pumping like crazy./p  
p data-p-id="286cb7c805ef446a6eba4a00c44ff480"Her face heats up and she can't help but moan into his mouth. emHoly /emstrongemShit/em/strongem holy/emstrongem Shit /em/strongemthis is .../em clumsily, he starts pulling at her top, exposing her stomach. emThis is wrong!/em/p  
p data-p-id="154e40eec4ed61c9e3f1e4f0d08c2f9a"She elbows him and knees him and manages to kick herself free, only to have him tackle her to the ground, a mental grin fixed in place on his face. emHe's enjoying watching me struggle,/em she realises, so bravely she smirks and tried jeering him./p  
p data-p-id="a563f2c9ac1610db0c00bd0d81eed970""Don't try getting ahead of yourself, spiky, you'll only be burned." But her heart isn't in it, and she knows she's lost. She's too weak now, her head is spinning, and she can't concentrate on anything except the thought of her punishment for what she's done to him. emMarik, I'm sorry./em/p  
p data-p-id="dc0d7028b6c7cfed9dda5b034562ed7b"He smirks down at her, straddling her hips and licking his lips as he looks her up and down with approval. "Scared yet, precious?" He chuckles, before swooping down and biting viciously at her neck, making her jerk. "You should be."/p  
p data-p-id="673b9afdf9fbeaf4ac88324fd02edfe8""I'm not scared - of you!" She gasps, growling as he bites down again, his hand fisted again in her hair, keeping the area exposed. emThis must be what (Y/ N) felt like with Bakura,/em is all that Sionnach can think of, keeping her mind off the way it feels so good to have Marik's other half attacking her like this. "Why me, you bastard!?"/p  
p data-p-id="8cd1c5ebc81d85a2d9165ffb75806d0d""Hmm," he hums against her torn skin, nipping his way back up to her mouth. "Because I am Marik. Marik is me. We're two sides to the same coin, can't have one without the other, darling." He bites at her lower lip before staring into her eyes. "And I do so prefer my victims with a bit of spirit."/p  
p data-p-id="fc0ef93c317820d06ff247f9f044fda3""You're jealous of him, aren't you," she says flatly. He grins, and she sees that his teeth are sharp and pointed./p  
p data-p-id="9a6dc84d0af0559bd513716abfb601ac""Maybe. What does it matter to you? Soon you'll give in." He shifts his weight, and she's disgusted to feel his length poking her stomach. "They always do."/p  
p data-p-id="ab640b4dc67af28226b55b2716558bf6""I'm not them," she says through gritted teeth. A new fire lights in her eyes. "Never have been. Never will be. "/p  
p data-p-id="3a3f2107d1f350b59b3e0a43e1100188""No, you won't, will you," he muses. There's a new look in his eyes, a deeper look. For the first time in Japan, Sionnach wishes that she had never come here. She stares at him as he almost tenderly holds her face with both hands. "For one thing, you're far to pretty to be one of them."/p  
p data-p-id="d694fac253aead4b3370015018ce746b"emIs he hitting on me? Honestly?/em Her mind screeches with indignation. But then he continues, still looking at her in that strange way. "For another thing, you're too feisty. They didn't fight at all." He smirks, and strokes her cheeks with his thumbs, keeping her eyes locked with his. "Maybe you're right. You're too interesting to get rid of just yet."/p  
p data-p-id="68f11a956248038f833b24c9872bfe65""You could share me with him," says her mouth on autopilot. The rest of her has given up and gone to the graveyard./p  
p data-p-id="3c9f0d4fd6089febf539453b35c8c5e1"He goes from almost tender to enraged in an instant. His eyes almost bug out of his head. "Share you?" He snarls. "With him? You're mine! He doesn't deserve you!"/p  
p data-p-id="0b68f22f2f97cc8c21730377e705cd77""So? The Bakuras are doing it, and they despised each other." She shrugs. "Why not you?"/p  
p data-p-id="f73233aef02eba2871f95af08a086a5a"The blonde sneers. "The thief king is weak. I am more evil than he could ever hope to be!"/p  
p data-p-id="97e453f6acc61cb92702f1b6af9d627d"Sionnach rolls her eyes, and once again the psycho is confused. emHow can she have the upper hand on me again? /em "Look, Mariku," she snorts, and something way down there tightens at the sound of his name said that way - "this isn't about who's more evil, alright? This is about whether or not you can both co exist with me... unless you don't want me, of course," she adds./p  
p data-p-id="0abba9444b439718e02e4878c2a40cc7""I should have won your affection! Not that - " she's grinning, and he realises that he's said it out loud./p  
p data-p-id="084ca870ceb73ebd148f76b8f242161a""Point taken, psychopath, so why don't you ask him what he thinks?"/p  
p data-p-id="bb8fa5b98a92482281759f1eb9470e9c"But already there's a voice in the back of his mind muttering approval that if not wholehearted at least agrees with what the beautiful girl is If we share her, we can ... arrange matters./em/p  
p data-p-id="fcd8c289357aa8b48636d3ef1b064719"Mariku mentally growls in agreement before pushing Sio suddenly back to the ground, tucking flaming strands of her hair out if the way before kissing back along her jaw. "Marik says he doesn't mind," he purrs, and as he reaches he mouth, she kisses him back./p  
p data-p-id="0537a4d209e57c5160fed61549d7f94a"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="d8370267f9cf5822c96aa38ce0c4d666"Yugi's fallen asleep on Yami's shoulder. Duke, Tristan and Joey are laughing and chatting together. Ryou and Bakura are talking silently to each other. Where does that leave you? Sitting with Tea, discussing Sionnach's love life./p  
p data-p-id="95fdea9f5bc0dccd2198daaf948e923e""Woah, Woah, Woah, back up! You hold out your hands in front of you defensively. "What do you mean, "another Marik"? You mean he's a Yami from the millennium rod?"/p  
p data-p-id="fede7f3a91034263279f79ee8d0ccc44"Tea sighs. "No, he's from his childhood. Marik went mad one day and... Mariku was the result."/p  
p data-p-id="8b6b69884d89dd592fff8ca145b8dec8""So he's a psycho?" You bite your lip anxiously, which Tea notices. She pats your hand reassuringly./p  
p data-p-id="5e2f754f9c019e32ef0e933cf6ed495d""I'm sure that Sionnach will be fine, (Y/ N). She's a strong girl, she knows how to handle guys."/p  
p data-p-id="af0eefc6ad8c486fd9d47527ee294894""Yeah, she always has, but..." You stare down into your lap. emWhenever she's been put in trouble by a guy, they always get more interested in her.../em/p  
p data-p-id="934dc4cea955b1f1561895fefdb2f5a9""Hey, it worked for you, didn't it?" Tea grins at you, and your mouth twitches up at the corners in response./p  
p data-p-id="baa1acea15dbedce596683600cfea3d8""Yeah, I guess you're right." You're about to say more when a heavy knock on the door interrupts you. You stand up and walk towards it. "I'll get it."/p  
p data-p-id="729cb863fd87be40739d9d9e5edc07f4"You open it - and your heart nearly stops in fear. The woman in front of you is just a bit smaller than you, with wild, frizzy dark hair tied back into a strict bun. Her face is lined, though she seems young, and piercing blue eyes glare into your soul, daring you to incur her wrath. "Miss O'Hara, how many times must I remind you to sign in after coming in?"/p  
p data-p-id="74dbceb9b2c2733575dde4d004cc4897"In short, it was Ms Kearns./p  
p data-p-id="640b3986761de567cb05e41704e7510c""Sorry miss, I wasn't thinking - " you begin, school time nerves bringing back memories of the days stuck in the hot seat with her voice booming like a death call and the silence of the rest of the class begging for it not to be them next./p  
p data-p-id="c81ea19294ffa9c1adc89055d2b12650""'Sorry' isn't good enough O'Hara! She snaps. She peers past you into your flat. "Are there people in there?"/p  
p data-p-id="15917ad4dfa43a32542cbb6a00223d23""Yes miss. They're friends miss."/p  
p data-p-id="91260cfa684e0c32b5f1c9130ef8d451""Hmph. Tell them to get out, curfew's in ten minutes./p  
p data-p-id="ca589d29681e078e2d9f5b5ddebb8f8e"emI completely forgot about curfew too!/em/p  
p data-p-id="e57a98d11d62e1ec73724e1ce249a53d"The gang have already heard her. They all file out and thank you, with the exception of poor Yugi, who stumbles out, still half asleep. Yami looks at you. "Ryou and Bakura are still in there."/p  
p data-p-id="8e195e25d4fd70482aa1f4311bd802de"You make a empfft/em noise. "They can help me clean up, they live right above us anyway."/p  
p data-p-id="545c0213e96fcb186fb4aa7057ceeef5"Yami smiles and wishes you goodnight, bowing to Ms Kearns on the way out. "Forgive us for staying so long, Sensei." He leaves, pulling Yugi with him./p  
p data-p-id="c220e49987486b3ee3f1577cb9c56cd8"Ms Kearns waves her hand at you. "Go on, O'Hara, get some sleep."/p  
p data-p-id="8af3de6c7bf3a23efc3cce4d551fd6b7""Yes miss. Thank you miss."/p  
p data-p-id="6dd79e73974253c55d5b92f90be8f859"She smiles before you close the door./p  
p data-p-id="dd5358fce8550b31accc3cbc4b55a7c5"A pair of arms wrap around you from behind, and you lean onto them, closing your eyes and yawning. "Bakura and I have cleaned up for you," Ryou whispers. Tired, you simply nod your thanks to him before he pulls you back into the flat and picks you up./p  
p data-p-id="3c21d996ddd3545f48493199c9d08896""Mm? Ryou, what are you doing?" You mumble. He leans down, pressing his lips to yours in a small kiss./p  
p data-p-id="659fe8d944a90f202051a5e9226901c9""Goodnight sweetheart."/p  
p data-p-id="65889e3a4aead53392365bb92e92ed1f"You don't remember anything after that./p  
p data-p-id="24340aff962cfaa227604ae579ed307b"~~~/p  
p data-p-id="ff7124301ae566113f66f64a60bef92d"There is a room, with moonlight streaming in the window./p  
p data-p-id="45c378940c8ab1c61e4527c2ab2cf7bc"There is a girl, lying on a bare mattress. Her arm hangs over a young man, his blonde hair long and straight, his face peaceful./p  
p data-p-id="ee927dcf77fe1ca5bf33a382641f64a6"Behind her, another blonde man, his hair wild as though he's just been shocked, has her back pulled against his stomach and his arms wrapped around her tightly, like he won't let go. His face is tense, even in sleep./p  
p data-p-id="1209c684bd34ea4a50928ac87f57e2ed"Sionnach smiles in her sleep, and snuggles in closer to her two little problems./p  
p data-p-id="1e0917e8b6cfb50a805de091b2138262"The smile stays on her face for the rest of the night./p  
p data-p-id="8ea202ec0529b7bfa4fc6f0512856e48"Woohoo! Writing Sionnach's character was amazingly difficult in this one. She's the readers best friend, takes no bull from anybody, but at the same time just wants to come up with solutions to problems. So why not help the three of them by sharing? She really is comh glic leis an Sionnach, as sly as a Fox! But portraying her as someone to be liked and not hated was a challenge./p  
p data-p-id="82cfd8571b7a3d6d12aaddb6d58e8835"I shall try and upload at least one more chapter before Monday. If I don't then you will all unfortunately have a long while to wait and I'm sorry about that. But thank you to all who read and comment on this story! It really does mean a lot to me!br /*DISCLAIMER* any relation of this work to any person or person's unknown is entirely coincidental and is not the fact that ms Kearns in my Irish teacher./p  
p data-p-id="66de6cb9b3336d65fac1a0fc142f2e1c"Thank you all, and see you in the next chapter!/p 


	8. Chapter 7: Double Date

**Bold writing =** ancient egyptian

"Come on, (Y/N), hurry up or we'll be late!" Sionnach's bouncing up and down on her heels, wearing for the first time in eons a dress. It suits her, a deep green at the top that fades to pure white at the bottom and that goes down to just above her ankles, fitted to show off her absolutely stunning figure. Her hair is tied up stylishly in a high ponytail, and her handbag swings on her arm. Whereas you, on the other hand...

Are stuck in the bedroom, trying to jump into your dress, brush your teeth and apply make-up all at the same time. Your dress is short and simple: fitted waist, covered shoulders and tops of arms, just barely showing collarbone. _If only I could get into the damned thing!_

"Bubbles!"

"Hang _on_ , Sio, I'm in the middle of a fucking _crisis_ here!" You scream as your reply, finally managing to fit into your dress and zip it up at the back, throwing on your comfy matching shoes and grabbing your hairbrush. Sionnach rushes into the room, snatching it from your grasp.

"Here! Let me help you -" sticking her tongue out in concentration, she somehow manages to give you a perfect hairstyle in around three seconds. "Right, you're done, let's head!"

"Right!" You shrug on your coat and follow her out, locking the door quickly behind you. _Wouldn't want any visitors while we're away._

Sionnach starts to speed walk, and you glance at your watch as you catch up with her: half past six. Ryou, Marik, Bakura and Mariku had wanted to meet you for dinner at seven, so... "how long does it take to get there?"

"Around fifteen, twenty minutes," Sio pants slightly. "To be there in plenty of time."

"Why?" You gasp out. You're both almost jogging now what with trying to match each other's speeds. "Is somebody - eager - to see - you?"

"You can't - be late for a - date with - a _psycho_ , bubbles!"

"He's that - bad? What about - Marik? Have - you managed to sort - things out between ye - yet?" You can feel yourself starting to lag, all most sweating buckets, so you grab her arm and yank her back into a normal walking pace. "Slow _down_ , long legs! I'm dying back here!"

"Okay, okay, I've slowed." She glances at you in confusion. "What was it you were saying? I can't remember."

You shrug and blush slightly. "What's it like with both of them? Have things... calmed down?"

Sio winces slightly at the memory of what they were like before they got on, a few weeks ago: grabbing her posessively, the low voices hissing threats in the hall after she kicked them out at night, and the time when Mariku had almost killed Marik because he kissed her in front of him. _Man, they were hell to deal with._ "They're ok now... but there was a point where I was actually going to tell them to leave me if they couldn't share me." (Y/ N) winces in sympathy at that, obviously remembering what Ryou and Bakura were like.

"Ouch."

"Ouch," Sio agrees. "Now they respect me and even plot together against me. It's hard at times, but I really do love them both. Yes, Mariku's possessive, yes Marik's authoritative... but they both reflect each other, if you get what I'm saying." She shrugs, eyes sliding slyly towards her best friend. "Thats the best way to describe mine... what about Ryou and Bakura? Any special chemistry going on there?"

"Cuddles!" She splutters, her face bright pink even under her make-up. _A rare occurrence, her wearing make up. Just like me and this ridiculous dress._

"What?" She teases, pushing her playfully. "You can't tell me that they don't have some qualities that you like!"

Ducking her head, (Y/N) bites her lip. "I ... I guess that... well, Ryou, he's kind of gentle and shy - and he always reminds me of lilac."

"Lilac?"

"Yeah. He smelled of lilac when I first met him... it's sweet and soft and comforting, like him." She nods to herself, as though glad to have pinned that down. Sionnach feels a slight twinge of regret.

 _Now we have boyfriends, we're spending less time together than we used to... I don't want us to grow apart_. (Y/N) interrupts her thoughts with a sigh. "I don't really think that I can describe 'Kura...

"Ahh, go on! Give it your best shot!" She encourages, and her friend smiles at her. _I won't let us grow apart._

"Okay... he's proud," she says, counting off her fingers, "possessive, sadistic, sarcastic, and he looks down on everything as though the earth is scum. He's obsessed with trying to get me into bed with him and has a serious case of UST."

"Unrelieved Sexual Tension?"

"Yep. But at the same time..." she frowns. "He cares, in his own way. He doesn't like it when he has to leave me, except with Ryou and you, Sio." Sionnach shrugs and grins. "He knows he can trust you two. I think..." (Y/N) sighs again and looks Sio in the eye. "He has a gentle side, just like how Ryou has a possessive side. Like you said, they both reflect each other. And I love them because they care."

They walk in silence for a while, the only sounds the traffic on the road and the sound of their footsteps. Then, Sionnach says quietly, "Makes you wonder what would have happened if we'd stayed at home, doesn't it?"

"We would never have known what it was like to love someone."

"Never have had our first kisses."

"Never have fallen asleep beside them on the sofa, knowing that you were in safe arms," you agree. Sionnach's eyes grow sad.

"Never have managed to accept the bad things because we wouldn't have had the people to hold us while we cry," she whispers. You stay silent after that, but reach out and squeeze her hand. You know what terrible times she's been through to make her so bitter and sarcastic.

You pass the entrance to an alleyway, full of bins and the smell of decay, when a voice in the dark yells "Get them!"

Sionnach and you jump at the sound and curse as men scramble over the shelter and try to grab you both. Sionnach elbows one in the face, punches another in the windpipe and tries to kick a third in the nuts when her leg gets caught up in her skirt and she's overpowered, yelling. Then there are too many surrounding you to punch, to kick, to knee, to bite, and you're both pinned by arms and legs to the filthy stone walls.

"Well, well, well, O'Hara-Chan. I haven't seen you for a while." Ushio's voice echoes through the alley and he steps out, holding the knife that he had threatened you with, a few weeks before.

"What do you want, you dibshit? We're going to be late if you do this." You keep your voice bored, annoyed. _Can't let him see the fear._

"For those cunts you call boyfriends? Well, they'll just have to do without you for a while, because I want some payback from three weeks ago. You remember?" He steps closer, holding the knife casually. "When you two we going at it like rabbits outside of that nightclub, and you ruined my reputation ?" His voice is growing louder, wilder. It's then that you realise that he's grown stubble, and his eyes are bloodshot. "Now nobody respects me anymore! All because of some silly little girl and her silly little crush!"

"So you think that they'll respect you when you do whatever it is you're going to do?" You scoff, giving him a derisive look. As if - ah!"

You just about manage to hold in the scream. Blood seeps from the long, shallow cut, running down your arm and dripping off your fingers. Ushio smirks at your pain, holding the bloodied blade to your throat. "Yes. I do."

"(Y/ N)!" Sionnach calls out at your cry. You can hear her struggling, and then her pained gasp and a thud.

"Sio! No!" But Ushio holds the blade closer against your throat, leering. You can feel it cut your skin, more blood staining the metal.

"You're not getting away from me this time, girlie."

Then you hear a crack, a scream, and all hell breaks loose.

Sionnach's cut and bleeding, but she managed to get a hold of the head of one of the thugs, cracking it against the wall. The others around her... well, let's say that it's amazing what you can do with a heavy shoe. Especially a razor sharp stiletto. And a stiletto that currently has Sio wielding it.

"Huh?" Ushio's thugs cry out as she comes near them, but his crazy gaze is fixed on you, his hand steady on the knife handle pressed to your throat. And currently that steady hold is exerting pressure, deepening the cut.

Until of course the idiots holding onto your legs let go to joint the uneven fight against the redhead.

Lashing out, you knee him in the groin, ripping your arms away from the other two and then proceed to kick, elbow, bite and slap/punch everybody until they're dazed. "SIO! We need to go! Now!" You scream, ripping the thug off her that had grabbed onto her skirt and kicking him in the face.

"In _these_ shoes? You want me to run in _these_!? " She screeches back, ripping off her weapons of mass destruction and beginning to run, barefoot. You follow her, and together the two of you sprint to the restaurant as quickly as benefits from being the winners of the All-Ireland under 18's hurling final.

Bakura paces outside the restaurant entrance, checking his watch and growling while Ryou and Marik look on. His black tuxedo looks very stylish on him, the jacket open to show his millennium ring. Of course he stole it, but that doesn't matter. "They're late."

Ryou bites his lip. His own clothing is a handsome navy suit, the jacket closed. He glances at Mariku, who has his eyes closed and is leaning against the wall. _He doesn't look to happy to be here with us._

Even though, Ryou admits, they do look the part for a fancy dinner. A pinstripe three piece sets off the straightness of Marik's hair, and a deep crimson affair matches the frightening aura of Mariku. Who has opened his eyes and is now watching Bakura, scowling. "Sionnach's never late if she can help it."

"Neither is (Y/ N)," Ryou frets, glancing down the street devoid of the two girls. He glances at his Yami. Maybe we should ring them or - "

They all hear it. Running footsteps. And voices, gasping out.

"Come on, (Y/ N)! Just - a bit further -"

"Are they still - following us?" The other voice sobs out. Ryou stiffens. ( _Y/ N)! She's hurt!_ He rushes forward to meet them, as do the others...and what he sees makes his blood run cold.

Sionnach is barefoot, carrying blood soaked high heels. Her feet are torn up, and she's bruised along her arms. Her dress is dirty and ripped at the hem. Small cuts line her fists, her elbows. Blood from a nasty cut above her temple has soaked into one eye and congealed on the eyelashes. But it's his girlfriend that makes him reel back in horror.

Her left arm has a long gash that's still bleeding, dripping onto her and onto the pavement. She's been crying, her hair's a mess, she's covered in bruises, and the front of her dress is soaked in blood from the ugly gaping cut on her throat. From beside him come the cries of shock at the appearances of the people they love.

"Sionnach -" Marik catches her, holds her to his chest while Mariku starts checking the severity of her injuries, muttering soothing things under his breath as she buries her head in Marik's shoulder and her body shakes. They stroke her, kiss her, comfort her. Ask her what happened.

You don't see anything past that with Sio, because you stumble and are caught in Ryou's arms, and your own comfort begins. Your heart pounds. Your cuts throb. Your tears... flow, and you cry onto Ryou's shoulder, gripping his jacket tightly in your bloody fists, shivering with the fright. "(Y/ N), shh, you're safe now, we're here, it's ok darling, shh, shh," he soothes, holding you tightly to him, stroking your hair. "Shh. It's okay."

He looks up at Bakura, who has become almost statuesque were it not for the fires of vengeance burning in his eyes. At Ryou's look, he steps behind you, the heat from his body warming your icy skin. The thugs had grabbed your coat and you had to abandon it. Slowly, his arms wrap around you. "Who did this?" He says, quietly, dangerously. "Who did this to you, love?"

Through your tears, you manage to sob out the name, your tremors subsiding. "U-Ushio... He jumped out at us from an alley and his thugs pinned us to the wall so we couldn't move..."

Bakura rubs your shoulders and you can feel his kiss on the back of your head. "Tell me that you at least got a few good kicks in?" He murmurs. Shakily, you start to laugh.

"I got in a lot of them," you confess. "But you should have seen Sio, she was amazing. They couldn't stop her once she got going."

"That was only because that bastard had a knife to your throat, and people holding your arms and legs," Sio says. You can't see her, but you know that she's angry. "If he hadn't done that, you'd have been at them like a shot."

Ryou picks you off his shoulder and leans down to kiss your forehead. "We need to get you cleaned up, or we won't be able to get you fed," he whispers. Right on cue, your stomach grumbles.

"Oops." You blush, but then Bakura's hands slide down to your hips and across to your stomach, clasping them and keeping you in place. He chuckles beside your ear.

"Are you sure that you aren't hungry for something else tonight?"

"Bakura, if I don't get fed, I won't even look at your menu." You can only crack a tiny smile at his outraged silence. Ryou steps away from you, holding your right hand, and Bakura lets go as you're pulled into the restaurant.

"They'll listen to us if we explain, come on." But Bakura makes sure to wrap his jacket around you to cover up the bloodstains all the same.

Finally, they're all sitting at your group table and ready to order after being cleaned up as best as they could in the staff bathroom. Sionnach can still feel the blood from her best friend on her skin, and she tries to push it away. _No! Think of something else -_

Like the way that Marik had tenderly sponged the cuts and bruises on her face with antiseptic cream, or the way that Mariku hadn't been able to let go of her in bathroom and when she'd protested he'd kissed her hard, cupping her face in his large warm hands, and she'd felt the fear and the need for her in the heated claiming. Like the way that it had felt to be in their arms after running for so long, and knowing that she was safe, she was home and she didn't need to run anymore. Like the fact that she and (Y/ N) are safe, and are sitting here waiting for food -

"Sio, are you..." she looks up. Marik's watching her carefully, and smiles tightly when she meets his eyes. "You kind of zoned out on us there." He's worried.

"Sorry," she mumbles, and looks down at the table. Mariku growls softly, and she glances out of the corner of her eye at him, remembering the expression on his face when she'd whispered to them what had happened. He reaches under the table now, placing his hand on her knee, and she wraps his tanned fingers in her own and squeezes, brushing her thumb over his knuckle. "I'm fine."

"Please tell me that you're hungry, Sio." She glances at her friend. She's been cleaned up well, but Bakura insisted that she keep his jacket on, and for good reason. It's high collared, hiding the bloodstained dress, and has long sleeves, hiding the now bandaged cut on her arm. But there's nothing that can hide the bandage on her neck, or the bruises forming on her face.

"Of course I am! If I could be let look at the menu, that'd be even better!" (Y/ N) rolls her eyes and passes one over, and Sio hides her face in it.

 _Those bastards will die and I'll be the one stabbing them_. That thought runs over and over again in Mariku's head, the rage and thirst for vengeance building up into a bloodlust. He glances at Sionnach. She's reading the menu, but at the sight of her bruises and cuts, something inside him threatens to break again. _How dare they do this? How_ _ **dare**_ _they?_

It's coming up to half nine by the time you all finish up, and you're feeling uncomfortably full. From the look on the face of Sio, she is as well. But for now, you're content. Good food, good company, and the dark cloud that had hung over cuddles all evening gradually dissipated as you argued with Bakura a about the difference between hurling and hockey... and insulted him, then apologised, then -

 _"I'll be expecting a proper apology later, sweetheart."_

 _\- oh yes, that._ Slowly, your eyes start to close, and it's only Ryou's oh so comfy shoulder that stops you from falling asleep on the table. Bakura notices this and smirks. "Looks like kitten needs her pillow."

Closing your eyes, you mumble sleepily, "this kitten has claws, you know." He just chuckles and begins to run a finger down your spine. Even through his coat, it's sensitive, and each time he does it, you shiver. "Stop it."

"Cats like being stroked, don't they?"

"Not this one." You shiver again and curl up closer to Ryou's side.

"Are you sure? Because that doesn't appear to be the signal that I'm receiving."

"Oh, just let me up to pay for the food, damn you," you growl. He stops stroking and instead pulls you into him, so that your head is on his chest. "Hey!" You complain.

His breath stirs the hair beside your ear, another reminder of his desire. "Who said that you were going to pay for food, when we can do it and receive our ... payment, later?" You stiffen slightly, and he laughs again before handing you back to Ryou to get up and go to the cashier.

Ryou pulls you up and supports you on his arm as you both exit the restaurant. Beside you, Sionnach is dead on her feet, but then Marik pulls her close and kisses her and she smiles again. "Ryou, did bakura mean what I think he meant by "payment" and "later"?"

"I.. I think I'd be lying if I said no," Ryou says shyly. Sighing, you lean into his body and rest your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"If you're involved too, then I wouldn't mind a small bit..." You stop, unsure, and blush. Bakura's voice drifts out of the darkness seductively behind you, and you blush even more at the implications of his words.

"I think he will be, don't worry..." his laugh echoes off the buildings as you all head home.

By the time you arrive there it's coming up to half ten and Ms Kearns is standing in the foyer and tapping her foot. "Well?" She demands, and then she sees the state that you and Sio are in, and covers her mouth. "Good God..."

They were attacked by a group of thugs, sensei." Bakura's voice is smooth, low. "Unfortunately we have no clue as to their whereabouts, but it is a miracle in itself that they managed to escape with their dignity intact." He scowls. "From now on, we will not let them walk alone by themselves until this gang is caught."

"We wanted to take them out to dinner, sensei," Marik explains, supporting Sionnach. The teacher's expression travels to her ripped and bandaged feet, and the bloodied stiletto ends.

Msn Kearns just makes you sign in and tells you to go to bed.

On the stairs and without warning, Mariku picks up Sionnach in his arms, bride style, and proceeds to carry her to her apartment. She shrieks and curses before settling down and putting her beautiful head on his shoulder, and his heart once again feels the pain of his rage. _I'll paint the town red with their blood._

"Mm, it's nice to get the weight off my feet," she sighs, snuggling closer to him. One of her hands reaches up and turns his head in her direction, stroking over his cheek and down his neck. "Why only do it now though?"

Mariku leans in to her ear, the little tremor of excitement that she started heading to a specific place way down there. "This is so you can't run away at what we have planned," he whispers, leaning down further and licking up her exposed newline so that she trembles and melts.

They reach her apartment, Marik unlocks the door, and they slip inside to begin the fun.

Bakura picks you up as well, with the same reaction as Sionnach. "You're tired," he reminds you, Ryou beside him. "You need to rest before your last surprise..."

"What sort of surprise?" A suspicious voice mumbles from his shoulder.

"You'll see."

Unlocking the apartment door, Ryou steps inside and turns on the lights. You frown, only now realising that this wasn't your home. "What -"

"They need their privacy, don't they?" He whispers, and that tone sends tingles down your body. He doesn't even put you down, just sits on the sofa and cradles you in his arms. Looking up, you can see the gleam in his eye. "I'm sure that you can rest here though."

The sofa dips slightly at the other end as Ryou joins you, pulling you out of Bakura's grasp and onto his lap. He presses his forehead to yours, his hands slipping around your waist just as yours fit around his neck. "Hello."

"Hi," you whisper back, eyes closed. Bakura makes a noise of indignation, and then you feel hands slipping under the coat wrapped around your shoulders, tugging at it. You know what he wants. One arm at a time, you let go of Ryou's neck. Soon the coat is left in a heap on the floor.

That isn't enough for the thief. You can feel him doing something else, and then the cold air hits your back and you gasp and are about to turn around when -

"Just go with it, (Y/ N)." Ryou's voice is heavy, and you open your eyes to look into his. They're clouded, pupils dilated, full of longing. "We won't go all the way. Please."

Bakura's managed to get the sleeves off your arms and reveal your bare skin. Apart from the bra, there's nothing between you, and he takes full advantage of that. A kiss between your shoulderblades and a feather light touch over your hips, and you can feel your body beginning to beg. "R-Ryou..."

"(Y/ N)," he breathes against your mouth. His hands cup your face. Leaning forward, he captures your mouth with his own, his kiss soft at first, but slowly gathering strength as you respond to it. _Ryou_...

Bakura's roughening affections make you shudder with delight and moan into the kiss as he bites your soft skin, his kisses and nips following the natural curve of your side, his hands sneakily moving up to your breasts, stroking them through the thin bra you're wearing. You don't, you can't hold back the gasping cry any more than you can hold back the tide inside of you, pulsing between your thighs. Then he reaches the dress at your waist, and Ryou somehow knows this, because he stops the kiss and lets Bakura take over while he slowly lifts your legs and lets it slide onto the ground with a soft thump. You're now only a bra and a pair of knickers away from nudity, and they're letting you know that.

Bakura's kiss is rough, biting your lower lip, demanding his entrance. But he isn't just kissing you, his hands have made their way down to your bare legs and are stroking along your thighs, making the battle to hold in the shudders increasingly difficult to be won - until he parts them, and you're kneeling on the sofa and still in his lap, able to feel uncomfortably the bulge of his erection. You let it out then, shuddering and groaning, and he takes pleasure from it.

Ryou's hands pull your thighs further back from behind, stroking the inside of them, dangerously close to the dampness that portrays your desires. It's sensitive, sensu _al_ , and he seems to know that, as does Bakura, who has begun to brush his hands over your back - and is now attempting to undo your bra.

"Ah!-" you struggle away from him, but Ryou's in the way, so you fall sideways onto the floor instead, clutching your bra to you as it threatens to fall away from your chest. Stare up at them. _They - they both have the same look on their faces..._

Eyes glazed with lust, heated cheeks, pleading expressions. Both panting from the excitement, the exertion, pupils dilated. Both reflecting the other. "(Y/ N)," Bakura croons, slowly sliding off the sofa towards you, his shirt buttons undone. _Did I do that?_ You wonder, but a small hungry smile starts to spread across his face and you scramble up and begin to back away hurriedly, covering yourself. "We just want to see you, love. Don't be so silly."

"N-no!" You shake your head wildly, taking another step back. "That's too far for me!" From the corner of your eye, you can see Ryou slipping off the sofa as well, heading towards you too. "You said you wouldn't go all the way, this is my line, don't cross it!"

"That was more of a guideline." Bakura eyes you up, the smile still on his face. You take another step back... and hit something, turn around to find it's a wall, turn back to find Bakura in front of you as he pulls you back into him. "Don't say you don't want this." He crushes his mouth back over yours, hands roaming your body, demanding you to give yourself, love him, let him love you with everything in his body.

"B-Bakura, we need to stop!" _Ryou's voice!_

The thief growls against your mouth before pulling away, glaring at the interruption. Ryou continues on, in a language you don't know, and Bakura snarls something back.

" **Bakura, she's scared. She's not ready, look at her!"**

 **"Then tell me why she responds so well to it!"**

 **"That was before you tried taking off her bra, Bakura, please! She's not used to it, we're her first loves, I don't want us to be her first lovers just yet!"** Ryou sounds anxious, as though he's begging for something not to happen. Bakura only pulls you closer to him at this point, his voice full of anger, full of lust.

 **"You mean that** _ **you**_ **don't want to become her lover just yet. Well then, I'll just have to do this myself -"**

" **It's not that! I know her, and I respect her, and I know that as soon as she starts to squirm we need to back off, or we'll break any trust we have! And she's a girl, she needs trust before she can do anything."** As though he's trying to teach Bakura something.

Bakura growls under his breath for a while. Then, back in the normal language, he asks, "how do you know all this stuff?"

"I read. And we get taught in school. **Please, Bakura. Let her go for now, wait until she's ready?"**

"Fine. **But don't think I won't be expecting more of her for this."**

Bakura lets you go, and you stand there, shivering, until he picks up his jacket again and flings it over your shoulders. "Guess we won't be having fun tonight," he whispers to you, and then walks off. You can hear the door slam in the distance.

Carefully, Ryou walks over to you, reaching out for you. You just look at him. "(Y/ N), forgive us. We were caught up in the moment, it won't happen again."

"Ryou," you croak, before coughing and speaking again. "Ryou, I don't mind if you two kiss me, or touch me, or hold me... I just -" you hesitate, and reach out for his hand. "I'm not prepared for anything beyond that. I'm sorry." Leaning up, you kiss his cheek. "I'm going to have a shower and go to bed, alright?"

All he can do is nod dumbly and watch her walk away from him, wishing he knew how to make things better.

And from the bedroom, Bakura curses listening to his other self, but at the same time... He smirks. "Good things come to those who wait," he murmurs to himself, and laughs quietly.

And in the bathroom, there are bandages left on the floor, and you peacefully allow the water to pummel your back and wash all of the grime and worry away, unaware of the stir that you've just caused...

Aha! Finished, and not a moment too soon, because tomorrow I restart school! I didn't intend to make this a sort of almost lemon ending, but whatever. I wonder what Sio's experiences are? And what Bakura is planning? UST lol ! Anyway, it may be next June when I'm able to upload again, and I'm sorry, but academia comes before fan fiction. Thank you to my internet sister Hollyleaf199, and my real sister on whom the attitude of Sionnach is mainly based, and to all of those people who are nice and comment on my story! Thank you!


	9. Chapter 8:Shopping for Revenge?

**bold writing = ancient egyptian**

"Sionnach."

They push at her, pull her head back, trace hungry mouths over her shivering skin. Her breath comes in gasps. Her eyelids flutter, tearing up as she cries out, flinching away from the sweet, torturous contact. But they yank her back and hold her down until the pain goes, shushing and murmuring praise in her ear. They want more. She can only give them less.

 _I can't believe that I let myself into this._

"Pretty thing, come on." Her bedroom is lit only by the side lamp on her desk, throwing their shadows across the wall in a ghastly rictus, a parody of their bodies, twisted in the bedclothes. Their shirts, waistcoats and jacket were discarded long ago. So was her dress. Mariku's movements are as rough as the burning, crushing desire in his voice, fist twisted in her long hair, keeping her head still, burying a growl in her collarbone. "Fuck you, _you know you want this_. "

"NO." She grits her teeth and rakes her nails down Marik's arm, unable to stop the groan from escaping. "I'll not... be having with... this-Ah!"

"Just take off your bra," Marik's tone's hard with lust, not the only thing that was, if they were anything to go by. He pushes his hand between her legs again, pressing on the heated wet patch with his index, and smirks when she gives another high-pitched gasp. "And your panties. We'll be gentle... maybe."

"Yeah right," Sionnach panted, throwing a glance at Mariku. He returns it with a slow, spreading psychotic grin, not helped by the fact that his eyes seemed to be contemplating ripping her apart. "Tell me that when you aren't here with me, and I might believe you." _Like if you were on the other side of the planet._

Mariku laughs, plucking at her collar again before licking the bruises under her black eye, kissing it. "Promise we can make your bruises better," he whispers. Sio closes her eyes as his breath tickles her ear. "By screwing your brains out."

"I figured it'd be something like that..." Her heart's pounding, her face is hotter than the Hell she'd go to if her Mammy or auntie ever found out about this, and her bruises and cuts sting like fuck. But -

 _they don't care. They just want me right here, right now_. "Besides... I wouldn't know how to - ow - how to do anything."

"There's a but," Mariku hisses, nipping at her skin.

"Go on," Marik croons, moving his head so that he can nibble on the other side of her neck. She lets out a shaky sigh, and reaches over to them. "But I suppose I could... learn..."

Mariku notices her relax in their arms. Her hand strokes featherlight down over the side of his jaw, brushing over a nipple, further down to his abdomen, and he stiffens, feeling the same thing happening to his other half through the mind-bond they share. _Shit, she's good.  
Too good. Let's make her __**bad**_ _-_

Marik doesn't get to finish the thought, due to the fact that Sionnach's kiss is blowing all thought away. Her hand slides down to his trousers, tracing over his hips. at the same time as her body twists to face him and her leg slides between Mariku's. "I suppose I could try a ... little bit," she mumbles. She looks up from under her lashes into Marik's dilated pupils, a sensuous smirk pulling at her mouth. "Be careful of the cuts."

The fun...starts.

Ryou opens his eyes, pulling the warm body closer into him and snuggling back down into the duvet. (Y/N) sighs in her sleep. Her face is peaceful, unlined.

 _(Y/N)._ Her laugh, her smile, the way she reached out for him when he was too afraid to reach out himself. _She's amazing. Amazing..._

 _...what happened last night..._

After her shower, they'd helped to re-dress her bandages, putting salve on the still-weeping slit along her neck. They'd made tea for her, but she fell asleep leaning against Bakura before she got to finish it all, and then...

Ryou's gut churns in shame.

 _She didn't deserve what happened to her last night._

She stirs and makes a cute little "Mmph" noise, snuggling closer into Bakura. Ryou lets his eyelids fall again, and smiles.

 _It's warm..._ You open your sleepy eyes and move closer to the body facing you. A sigh escapes your lips. _So warm, not fair..._ _Hmm, Bakura looks cute when he's asleep._

 _Wait. He's_ _ **what**_ _?_

Both your eyes fly open. Behind you, Ryou's breathing is gentle, even. You can't help but stare at how much softer Bakura looks. There's no sarcasm, no anger, no smirking, none of his usual facial expressions, his brow is unfurrowed... _Like an older version of Ryou,_ you think.

But then he snorts, and looks at you from under his long lashes, a smile hovering around his lips. "So shy?" He chides. An arm reaches up from under the duvet and pulls your red face up from where you ducked it when he noticed you staring. "I thought we cured that problem..."

"Good morning to you too," you grumble, grabbing the hand that had revealed your discomfort and shoving your head back under the duvet. Another arm slides over your waist, and Ryou pulls you in closer to him. His hair tickles the back of your bandage.

"Glad that you're awake," he mumbles. You shiver slightly as he kisses under your ear, and uncomfortably you move. It's starting to get a bit too hot in bed. Especially when Bakura slides his fingers up under your pyjama top.

"Right, that's enough, I'm going to get breakfast now!" With a heave, you pull yourself onto your knees and attempt to climb over the crimson-eyed fiend to safety. Big mistake. He pulls you back down, moving until he's half on top of you, his eyes glittering at the surprise on your face.

"Not so fast, you little worrier," he purrs. He begins tugging at the skin on your jaw with his teeth, kissing and nipping, chuckling when he hears your gasp. "You still haven't reimbursed us fully for our _hospitality_ last night...

"Bakura, not now," you warn. Under your bandages, your scab starts to crack. "Not now, so off _ow Bakura you white-haired git off now!"_

Flinging him off, you slither off the bed, stumbling slightly when your bare feet hit the cold, hard floor. Wincing and rubbing at your sore neck, you glance back at the stunned Yami, a strange look in his eyes.

"I'll see you at breakfast," you mutter, and stiffly limp out. The door shuts.

Ryou notices Bakura's hands have curled into fists. He's trembling with rage, staring at the single drop of blood that had fallen from a cracked scab on (Y/N)'s ankle. "I'm going to get them," he growls, his voice low. "I'm going to get the bastards that did this and make them pay for every cut, every bruise, _every second_ of torment that they put her through." _And I know exactly who'll help me._

The thought burns in the link. Sighing, Ryou swings his feet around the bed and slides off beside his yami, resting a hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Come on, let's get breakfast..."

 _We need to be there for her today, Bakura._

 _Wow._

Sionnach stares at the ceiling, ignoring the snores, the mutterings, and the arms that have somehow managed to wrap around her waist in such a way that she's no trapped in a cage. Hair is tickling her arms, her sides, her neck. Not all of it's hers. It feels like a dream.

 _No wonder sex is a sin._ Sio shifts slightly, flinching at the twinge and twang of wrecked muscles, bruises, cuts and all-round pain. A tanned arm slides up and cups a naked breast, stroking a thumb over the nipple. Sionnach nearly curses.

"Told you you'd enjoy it, my dear." _Mariku._ God, he was rough. They were both rough. Rough and wonderful, and her body flushed with heat to even remember the way that they'd touched her, slammed into her, made her scream and beg. _Beg. Her._

He props himself up on an elbow and smirks, leans his face in close to hers, stares into her eyes. Sio snorts. "If that was gentle, I'd hate to be around when you get in the mood for rough. You'd rip me apart."

"only a little bit," he muses. stroking his fingers down along her body, stopping to grasp the hot inside of a thigh, smirk widening as she ever-so-slightly gasps, eyes widening, arching into the movement. "After all, keeping you around is so much more _interesting_ if you're whole."

"Mmm, much more than that," The other voice murmurs. Marik's hand moves up to her chest, tugging thoughtfully at a strand of loose auburn hair and twirling it around his index. "One could even say... _sensational,_ hmm?"

Their naked bodies press closer, their lust still not entirely sated. She can feel their cocks start to harden again against her ruined hips, and closes her eyes, drawing Mariku's painfully-close mouth into her own, moaning softly in pleasure, twisting herself into them -

 _"She's got a map of the world, and she's-a gonna see it all..."_ (Y/N)'s ringtone... rings. Sio slumps in the Egyptians' grips, the moment gone, and pulls away from Mariku's mouth. "Pass me my phone, somebody."

Marik grunts and manages to grab it from the side table she'd left it on last night. Sio clicks the call icon and levers it up to her ear, listening intently. "What?"

Marik glances at his fuming, counterpart, raising an eyebrow -

"No, I'm not dressed. Or showered, why"-

 _What do you think all this is?_

"What? When? _whaddayamean, now!?"_ -

 _Girly things?_ Marik snorts, before his eyes widen.

 _(Y/N)'s asking about sex!_

"Fine. I'll get up. And yes, I'll shower. No, I wasn't"-

Both go stiff. _**Shit.**_

"Ok, maybe a little bit. A lot a bit. Fine, yes, full-blown."-

"I'll tell you later. See you in fifteen." She taps the end-call button and slumps back onto the pillows . "Ugh. Kill me."

"What, now?" Marik asks, incredulously. Sio opens an eye again and looks at him.

"Girls-only shopping trip."

"This one's pretty," Tea remarks, holding up the top and inspecting it. You're in a high - street clothes shop that Tea recommended, browsing for nothing in particular, and just enjoying the feeling of maybe finding "The One" somewhere.

"Bargain rails here are the best ever... but that would fit neither of us. We're too big for Japan... here," you gesture vaguely at your chest. Tea smiles and shrugs.

"I forgot to tell you, this is a big-sized shop. I like to shop here because, well..." She looks down and blushes. "I was teased about my cup size a lot in school."

"Well, while we're here, you won't be. Hmm," Sio holds up one, squinting her hazel eyes, but then discards it with a disgusted sigh. "Nope. Nothing here suits me."

"Try this one," You say, absently. She shoves her reject into your arms, grabs the one you has, and drags both you and Tea over to the changing rooms. "Hey -"

"If these don't work, we're done luck." She disappears behind a curtain and yanks it across. You can just make out her grin before she's gone from sight.

Tea and you both share a look and shrug, then snag your own compartments. Safe behind the curtain, you hold it up... and watch it roll down to the floor in fluttering waves.

 _It's so pretty..._ _Damn it, why does Sio's taste always have to be better than mine?_ But it is. The silver, floating strapless dress calls to you like nothing before, its silken glimmering fabric light and airy on top, thicker below to protect you from view. And it's a perfect fit. You walk out of the changing rooms shyly, blushing. "Guys, I need an opinion-" You stop. Cover your mouth.

 _Bakura?_

The Yami turns at the sound of your voice, brooding eyes widening, taking in the way the dress curves around your figure, your shocked expression, your nervous posture, and the way that you're staring back. He's got his long black trenchcoat on over a pair of jeans and a simple top, leaving his Millennium Ring on show.

Bakura's mind is on fire. Her bandages and a lot of her bruises are exposed in a way that they weren't before under her turtleneck, but...

 _Bloody hell, she's gorgeous._ And currently looks as though she wants to shrink back into the changing rooms. What kind of fool would put changing rooms right next to the door where just about anyone could see?

 _...The right kind of fool, as a matter of fact._ Ryou's thought whispers across the link. _Lucky you..._

Bakura walks into the shop slowly, stopping just a few inches away from you, and you take a tiny step back, arms instinctively rising up to hug your chest, but then he takes your hand and the strange, soulful look in his eyes disappears. He smirks.

"I didn't expect to see you in a dress today. This one suits you." Stepping back, he lifts your arm up and twirls you around, admiring you from every angle as the skirt opens out like a flower. "Very elegant on you." You cry out slightly as he pulls you into him from behind, closing his hands around your stomach, his hair falling over your shoulder and slipping over your skin. "You should wear dresses more often..."

"Since when did you become a fashion expert?" You retort, before leaning back against him. "Also, what are you doing here? This is a _girl's shop._ On the _high street_."

"I'm looking for clothes, of course," he purrs, kissing your cheek. "And if I just so happened to see you all dressed up and lovely, well, what am I to do?"

"Fuck off?" Sio grins, leaning back on one leg and shoving her hands into her dress pockets. "Jesus, Bubbles, but he's hard to get rid of. I leave you for TWO SECONDS and he's beside you!"

"Yeah, I know," you sigh, grinning. You wink at her. "Bet you wish that yours had the same ability - HOLY SHIT WHERE THE FUCK! - WHAT THE FUCK! -"

"How could you ever doubt me, (Y/N)?" Mariku winks at you, his arms a cage around Sionnach, and rests his head on her shoulder, his pinprick pupils watching you intently. Sio jumped a bit at the start, but now it appears that she's calmed down. Mariku straightens up and kisses her cheek. "You should know by now that having Sionnach wander around free on her own, with out Marik or I, is... impossible to imagine."

"But you just popped out of nowhere!" (Y/N) splutters, her face red. Bakura could barely stop her when she shrieked and tried to push herself away, screaming incoherent profanities. Mariku's chest is warm against Sio's back. She glances up into his sly grin, tapping his linked hands.

"Let go?"

Mariku's grip tightens. He smirks evilly, rubbing his cheek against hers. "What if I don't want to let you go? I might need a little _pet_ to see how different clothes suit me."

"Ah, not you too, Mariku!" He just laughs.

You wander from shop to shop, trying things on, eating, buying things, chatting, and just basically being girls. Bakura ad Mariku (somehow) find the time to buy stuff for themselves - jeans, t-shirts, shirts, socks, underwear - to convince you that they really were just out "shopping" and that being around you was entirely a coincidence. But whenever you were alone for more than five minutes, Bakura would magically appear out of nowhere and just... watch.

But eventually, you can take no more of this. So when he appears from afar in the lingerie section of a department store...

You whirl around and glare at him. "Why are you following me everywhere?" You snap. He just looks back coldly, arms crossed. "This is nothing to do with you buying clothes. Go on, shoo! Shoo!"

"I don't trust you to be safe alone."

Your jaw drops, and you blink a few times before saying, "Excuse me?"

"I don't want you to be hurt by the scum that gave you those bandages," he growls. Takes a step closer, and another. Mariku and I will be taking care of them later tonight, but until you're back in our flat and _safe,_ then I will not let you out of my sight."

He stops a few inches away and leans down. Crimson eyes glower into your own. "I want to keep you safe, sweetheart. I never want to ave to go through what I felt when I saw the state you were in last night."

You hold his gaze for a little longer, then close your eyes and kiss him on the cheek. "You still shouldn't be here. This is for bras. Not you."

"I'm allowed to imagine what they'd look like on you, sweetheart. Can't a man dream?" He asks, breath hot on your wet lips. He slips an arm around your waist, his free hand cupping your chin, angling your head back into the kiss again. A sigh, a shiver, fingers stroking through his thick, spiky hair, and then your mouth opening to the feel of his tongue, letting him in. _Oh..._

He pulls away and presses his forehead against yours, panting slightly. His eyes slide open, watching yours. "I love you," he murmurs. You cup his hand on your cheek.

"I know, and I love you too.. Go on, I won't be long here." _Sta with me, please stay, please,_ your mind begs otherwise. You push the thought away and give him a peck. "Go on." Slowly, he pulls away from you, then vanishes without a parting glance.

You sag, and turn your attention back to bras. Like that see-through nightdress there...

"If you're looking for somethin' ta get them intersted, that's the one I'd go for." Sio grins and plucks it out of your hand, looking at it. "Hmm... yep, this'd suit you. Of course -"

"Sio, please. If you could do it by _breathing_ on them, I can do it by winking." (Y/N) smiles back at her, but her heart's not really in it. She never was able for all-day sprees, lucky thing. But then she pauses, glancing at her as she picks out a few lingerie sets that she'd been fiddling with. "You know, you never told us what it... felt like."

 _Amazing. Sore. The best thing in the world._ Sio shifts uncomfortably, but then gives in when they turn to head towards the checkout. "Indescribable, apart from the pain. But that was only because they're both... not gentle."

"Pfft. Obviously." Bubbles grins and elbows her in the ribs. "I told you that you'd pull, didn't I? I _said -"_

"Ahh, shut up." The creeping blush along her pale skin just makes her best friend laugh even more, before -

your phone rings. You take it out, glancing at the screen in surprise. "It's Ryou." Hold it up to your ear, standing in the queue at the till. "Ryou? Is everything alright?"

"Hi, (Y/N). I was just, um, wondering when you two will be back...?" The questioning tone makes your heartstrings twang.

"We'll be home in a little while, we're just finishing up now. The bus'll get back in around half an hour, alright?"

"Oh. Okay. Well, um, since we're on our midterm, uh, Bakura and I were thinking, that is, we were wondering, if - well, since Sio had Marik and Mariku over -"

"I'd love to stay over tonight," you reassure him, smiling. "I'll just need to get some pj's from my room, and then I'll be set. I'll see you later, alright? I love you - Bye - " The call ends, just as the queue deposits you in front of a dour-looking cashier, where you pay and leave. Bakura and Mariku, you notice when you reach the bus stop, have vanished.

 ** _Slam!_**

The student's face connects with the wall again, with the same if not even more force. In the old warehouse, his voice can't be heard, but still he screams with the pain, the blood gushing down his face from cuts, lumps, his broken nose, his bare gums where the teeth were an hour ago, the wounds on his scalp where they'd decided that the wall was too good for him. He's thrown to the ground, and as he looks up he can see the crescent gleam of Ushio's sadistic grin.

"No, please, I'll pay up, I'll pay up, I won't go to the cops, please -"

His eyes widen, his begging grows louder, as the foot rises... and falls, and connects with a _crack-crack-crack_ of ribs.

"Should have payed up a long time ago," Ushio spits, before kicking the unconscious mess. "Youand you, get this pathetic thing outta my sight." The other gang members grin and snigger, enjoying the bloodshed-

Until a long, low chuckle echoes through the hideout, filling their ears with noise and their minds with fear. It isn't a nice chuckle. It promises that bad things will be happening very, very soon, and not to the chuckler. The thugs glance around, towards their leader for help.

Ushio's teeth grit, his fists curling. In one fist is his already-bloody knife. "Who'se there!?" He barks, showing his teeth in a soundless snarl. "Show yourself, bastard!"

Another, more frightening laugh echoes around the warehouse, and a figure appears from the darkness, a glowing eye on its forehead, veins popping around it, on its neck. It's holding a sharp pointy golden stick and has the eyes of a mass-murderer. Even worse, it's grinning.

Behind it, another figure strides towards them, a glowing object on its chest, a smirk of satisfaction playing around its lips. Mariku stops, dropping his grin, and Bakura leans against a stack of disused boxes, holding his Millennium Ring in one hand, casually placing the other in his pocket. "Good evening, scum."

Ushio growls, gripping his knife so hard that his hand shakes. Mariku looks up lazily. His pupils are almost invisible. "Don't move, it'll make it more difficult for us to extract our vengeance." His face contorts. "They turned my sweetheart into a bruise with cuts on and cut your girl's throat. They deserve the... **special treatment** tonight."

"Shall we?" Bakura's teeth flash in the sudden maelstrom of shadows, and he starts to laugh as the first screams ring around the warehouse. _Crunch. Click. Crack. Thud!_

Ushio doesn't take his bloodshot eyes off them, holiding his knife out in front of him. "Don't you dare come near me -"

It leaps out of his hand and slices across his throat. His chest. His legs. Stabs him through the stomach, then bites deeply into his wrist, so that the bright red arterial blood spurts like a fountain down onto the ground, spattering the shoes of the Yamis. They stand over him and watch him curl up into the foetal position, screaming.

"Are we done?" Bakura asks, observing the spreading puddle of blood.

"Almost." Bakura turns away and starts heading for the exit after his ally, ignoring the sounds of the demons feasting on Ushio's flesh.

 _Snap. Crunch. Crack._

 _ **Thud.**_

A door opening and slamming shut just as dinner is placed out on the table announces Bakura's arrival at half eight. Slinging his coat onto the back of the sofa, he grabs you in the kitchen doorway and slams his greedy mouth over yours with a growl of pleasure, digging his hands into your hips.

"Mmph -" she tries to say, before relaxing in his grip. A hand creeps up to cup his face, his neck. "Mmph..."

 _Mine._ A hot rush of satisfaction, of possession, surges through him, and he pulls away from her lips, chuckling with the euphoria. _Now that you're safe...we can get down to_ _ **business...**_

"What... What was that for?" (Y/N) gasps, her eyes unfocused slightly, her cheeks flushed. Bakura looks down at her hungrily, moving a hand to yank her chin back up. Crimson eyes glitter from under his shaggy fringe as he licks his lips, revelling in her reaction - a startled look, then a deeper blush creeping over her skin, all while averting her eyes. _Gorgeous._

"Let's just say," he whispers, pecking her quickly, "That I'm just so delighted to be here with you, darling." She shoulders him off and ducks her head, blushing, which makes him laugh before seeing Ryou sitting at the table, giving him a wide-eyed stare. He can feel him going trough his mind. _What?_ _ **Upset**_ _at what you see?_

 _You really killed them all?_ His landlord's mind asks, while his mouth says, "Thank goodness you're back. We've been waiting for you to come home for ages."

"Keh. You should have fed her earlier. That way you could have sent her off to bed."

"Oi! I'm not a child, 'Kura," You complain, lips still smarting from the pressure of his. You glance from one to another all the while you eat the chicken and vegetables that crowd the plate. Something feels off, but you just can't figure out what...

"You know, darling, we're going to have to find you somewhere to bed you during your stay," Bakura says, giving you a sly glance as he finishes his meal. Ryou chokes a little on his water , covering his mouth. "We can't have you on the floor now, can we?"

"N-No!" Ryou wheezes. Bakura grins.

"See? Ryou agrees. You're in bed with us then, is that alright love?"

You shrug, an inner piece of you screaming at the obvious meaning hidden behind his "kind" words. "I can always take the sofa."

"Oh good," the Yami ignores Ryou's sudden hysterical outbreak of coughing, instead choosing to pick your hand up from your lap and lift it up to kiss it. "We can dog pile."

 **"Are you mad?! She'll never agree to it!"**

 **"Yes she will. She just needs to be stroked the right way... and we both know how to stroke."** _Trust me on this, and we can have her in our arms forever._

"I think I'd prefer the bed, thank you." Standing up, you give them a smile. "Well, I'm going to have a shower, so if you need me..." _Phew. Hurdle avoided!_ You exit the room, dart to the bathroom and lock the door, leaning on it for the support, covering up the scream with your hands.

 _Theywant_ _ **sex**_ _theywant_ _ **sex**_ _theywant_ _ **sex**_ _-_

To the sound of the shower, the two albinos look at each other blankly. Then, slowly, Bakura stands up.

Ryou knows what he's going to try to do. "Are you sure that's a good-"

"She did say if we _needed_ her. I'm feeling very needy tonight." Bakura creeps towards the door, is eyes gleaming with dark intentions. "Besides, the lock is just so easily broken..."

"Don't you fucking dare, ya twat!" A muffled scream stops him in mid-step.

From inside, the hot water cascades over your still sore muscles, twinging as it trickles over the unbandaged cuts and the stormcloud bruises. "You can stay out until I'm done, and not before!"

 _I told you so._ Growling to himself, Bakura sulkily settles down to wait.

You continue your shower in peace.

AHAHAHAHAAAAA FINISHED! i'M SO SLEEP-DEPRIVED, IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK AND MY TEACHERS ARE ILING A LOT OF CRAP HOMEWORK ON ME

anyway... I hope that you all liked this update. Thanks to all who read it, and please please PLEASE COMMENT OR LIKE OR VOTE OR SOMETHING TO STOP ME FROM BEING SO LONELY...

See you in the next chapter! :)


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